Jean-Paul Gasparian plays Debussy, Chopin, Murail, and Messiaen

Born in 1995, the brilliant Jean-Paul Gasparian began racking up competition wins and rave reviews as a teenager and has only gained momentum and international standing in the years since. In May 2019, just a month after releasing a recording that was called "one of the finest Chopin recitals of recent years... Chopin of the very highest order" (Fanfare), he appeared at the Fondation Louis Vuitton to give a stunning solo recital that features works by the poet of the piano, among other gems of the repertoire.

From Debussy's evocative Images and lushly romantic Estampes to gripping modern French works by Messiaen and Tristan Murail, Gasparian shows his remarkable technical ability and interpretive intelligence. He also offers a beautifully chosen lineup of masterpieces by Chopin: the majestic Polonaise-Fantaisie, the monumental Ballade No. 4, and the stormy Nocturne in C Minor Op. 48, No. 1—epic enough to be a Ballade in its own right—plus the sublime Nocturne Op. 27, No. 2 (perhaps the dreamiest of all Chopin's Nocturnes) and the irresistible "Heroic" Polonaise.

Tristan Murail's La Mandragore © 1993 Editions Henry Lemoine, Paris