Jean-Philippe Collard

Jean-Philippe Collard – Rachmaninoff: 6 Moments musicaux – Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:05:11 minutes | 981 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © La Dolce Volta

Jean-Philippe Collard’s version stands out for its fluidity and wonderful naturalness. He constantly renews his touch, first thinking of the Pictures at an exhibition… in their orchestral nature.

The artist never tries to do too much, painting each painting with imagination but sobriety, always concerned with balance.

Thanks to this sense of narration, Baba Yaga and the Great Gate of Kiev hit the nail on the head.

This overflowing energy recalls a certain Horowitz with whom Jean-Philippe Collard had forged a beautiful friendship in those crucial years when artistic maturity was forged.

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Jean-Philippe Collard – Auric: Imaginées (1979/2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 41:52 minutes | 687 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Warner Classics

In 1968, as he approached the age of 70, Georges Auric began work on Imaginées, a series of six intimate works in a modernist vein – concentrated and compelling in their expression. Famously a member of Les Six in the 1920s, the multi-faceted Auric studied under Vincent d’Indy and gained an international reputation for his film scores while also taking an influential role in France’s musical life.
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Jean-Philippe Collard – Fauré: 13 Barcarolles & Ballade Op. 19 (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:10:50 minutes | 1,09 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © La Dolce Volta

A respected interpreter of Fauré, Jean-Philippe Collard has over the years recorded all of his piano works, not to mention his complete chamber music and a disc of songs, with Frederica von Stade – a part of the composer’s output that he regrets not having explored more “for all the insight it gives us into Fauré’s music, the conjunction of words and music, and the phenomenon of phrasing with the breath that singers are obliged to respect and that some pianists neglect.”

50 years after his first version of the Barcarolles and 37 years after his recording of the Ballade op.19, here is a miraculous record, by a humble servant of music at its peak of inspiration.
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Jean-Philippe Collard – Chopin: Préludes & Piano Sonata No.2 (2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:14 minutes | 890 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © La Dolce Volta

It has taken him decades to feel comfortable with the composer. Today he is confident in his approach to this repertory and has no qualms about his interpretative options. Chopin’s music gives him two very powerful impressions. First of all, it interprets the sensation of being in love, an aspect he finds fascinating. Moreover, his language speeds up the process of communication between artist and audience.
He sees this disc as a break, a renewal. All his previous records were released on EMI. Today he has changed labels, repertory, sound engineer … These developments enable him to escape a certain routine, to put himself on the line.

There are countless benchmark versions in this repertory, but the French pianist has not sought to measure himself against them, and his approach to the composer is honest and totally sincere. Chopin represents a genuine challenge, for which Jean-Philippe Collard has identified a style that is his alone.

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