Josquin Otal - What It Most Suggests (2024) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

The Études-Tableaux op. 39 are perhaps Rachmaninov's most modern and sombre compositions. Composed in 1917, just before he fled to the USA, the nine picture etudes are a challenge for any pianist. Nikolai Obukhov, who was 20 years younger, wrote his Six Tableaux psychologiques in 1915 before emigrating to France in 1918 and being sponsored by Ravel. The influence of Scriabin is unmistakable. The French pianist Josquin Otal, a student of Anne Queffélec and Denis Pascal, has recorded these works together with one piece each by Granados and Crumb on the new luxurious Yamaha CFX grand piano.