i Les Tendres Plaintes. Rondeau, iv La Joyeuse, viii Les Cyclopes, x La Boiteuse
The French Baroque composer Jean-Philippe Rameau wrote three books of Pièces de clavecin for the harpsichord. This is a selection from book 3.
i Invocation to Veles and Ala, ii The Evil God and the Dance of the Pagan Monsters, iii Night – the Evil God harms Ala, iv The Glorious Departure of Lolli and the Cortège of the Sun
Prokofiev originally wrote the music for the ballet Ala i Lolli, the story of which takes place among the Scythians. Commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev, the ballet was written to a scenario by Russian poet Sergey Gorodetsky. Nicolas Ventura has transcribed a selection for solo piano.
No. 2 in E♭ major, No. 3 in G♭ major
The Impromptus, Op. 90, D. 899, are a set of four impromptus for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert in 1827. They were written in the same year as the Impromptus, Op. 142, though only the first two pieces were published during Schubert's lifetime. Together with the latter set, they have become a cornerstone of the piano repertoire.
Selection from: i Moderato, ii Poco lento, iii Moderato, iv Adagio piacevole, v Poco agitato
Although it is not a strictly programmatic work per se, Bloch’s 1936 Visions and Prophecies—a five-movement piece for solo piano—is an emotional, spiritual, and dramatic evocation of sentiments, incidents, proclamations, or characters in the Hebrew Bible.
v Chaconne
Busoni's virtuosic piano transcription of the Chaconne from Bach's Partita No. II for solo violin (BWV 1004) is an early example of the young Italian composer's interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The work, dedicated to Eugen d'Albert, was first published in 1893 and premiered in the same year. Since then the Chaconne has secured a permanent place in the repertoire. Busoni releases an incredible range of sonority from the original violin work, approaching at times an orchestral texture.
Nicholas Ventura - Piano
With regular appearances in prestigious venues such as Cadogan Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Bridgewater Hall, the Jacqueline Du Pré Music Building, Palau de la Música Catalana, Fazioli Concert Hall, and Teatro La Fenice, Nicolas Ventura has been praised for his “technical mastery and authority” and“limitless palette of colours”.
Following his London debut at Cadogan Hall described “monumental”, he is sought after by numerous festivals, including the Patmos Music Festival, Giortes Rokka, the Bartolomeo Cristofori Piano Festival, the Oxford Piano Festival, and the Mid-day Manchester Concert Society, and has performed alongside leading artists and ensembles including members of the New York Philharmonic, the Surrey Mozart Players, Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra, the Danube Symphony Orchestra, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bacau.
A Delphian Records recording artist, Nicolas will release his debut album Origins in February 2027, devoted to Prokofiev and Bloch. A prize-winner of the Concours International d'Île-de-France, he is also the recipient of the Oleg Prokofiev Trust Award for his work on the composer’s music.
Born in Tuscany, Nicolas trained at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Tatiana Sarkissova and Dina Parakhina. He currently specialises with Roberto Prosseda and at the Lake Como International Piano Academy with William Grant Naboré. Passionate about education, he has been invited to teach and hold masterclasses across the UK, Italy, and Greece
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