Zdeněk Fibich - Piano Music (Radoslav Kvapil)

Information

Composer: Zdeněk Fibich

• Moods, Impressions & Reminiscences, Opp. 41 & 57 (selection)
• Studies of Paintings, Op. 56

Radoslav Kvapil, piano

Date: 1993

Label: Regis

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Zdeněk Fibich (21 December 1850 – 15 October 1900) was a Czech composer. He studied under such prominent musicians as Ignaz Moscheles and Salomon Jadassohn in Leipzig and Mannheim, then settled in Prague from 1874. Influenced early by Weber, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and later by Wagner, Fibich composed many songs and operas in German, gaining acclaim from German critics but less so from Czechs. His later operas were mostly in Czech, but often based on non-Czech literary works. He integrated Bohemian folk elements into his chamber music and was a pioneer in composing Czech nationalist tone poems.

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Radoslav Kvapil (born 1934 in Brno) is a Czech pianist celebrated for his interpretations of Czech piano music. A graduate of the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, he began his career teaching before rising to prominence as a performer. Kvapil has recorded extensively, including the first complete recording of Antonín Dvořák's piano works from 1967 to 1969. His repertoire also includes works by Smetana, Janáček, Martinů, and others. He has performed in prestigious venues across approximately 50 countries, including London's Royal Albert Hall, New York's Carnegie Hall, and the Théatre des Champs Elysées in Paris.

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