Piano Dances

Anna Vinnitskaya celebrates dance, or rather the dances of composers from very different periods and styles: Ravel, Shostakovich, and Widmann.

"In all these works, you can feel in some way transported to the world of childhood because I believe the childhoods of each of these three composers are reflected there," says the pianist.

In his "Valses nobles et sentimentales," Ravel paid tribute to Schubert. A few years later, he transcribed his ballet score "La Valse" for solo piano, in which

"billowing clouds part from time to time, allowing us to glimpse waltzing couples."

Shostakovich's "Dances of the Dolls" remind me of the Soviet cartoons of my childhood, says Anna Vinnitskaya.

"They also remind me of Mozart: they are as bright as diamonds, sincere, and beautiful."

The "Zirkustänze" (Circus Dances) composed by Jörg Widmann in 2012, a brilliant kaleidoscope of emotions and parodies, round off the programme.