Preludes I & II

"The recording is truly gorgeous, as is the piano sound."
(MusicWeb June 2005)

First volume of projected first complete Debussy cycle from today's great ambassador and stylist of French piano music.

Pascal last recorded Debussy piano music over 25 years ago for Decca and never recorded Book 2 of the Preludes

Complete Préludes on one very well-filled CD (79 minutes) for which there is hardly any stereo competition (Zimerman, Thibaudet etc all take 2CDs).

Inauguration of the Rogé Edition, a collaboration with Onyx designed to present the complete range of Pascal's work going forward.

First volume of projected first complete Debussy cycle from today's great ambassador and stylist of French piano music.

Pascal last recorded Debussy piano music over 25 years ago for Decca and never recorded Book 2 of the Preludes

Complete Préludes on one very well-filled CD (79 minutes) for which there is hardly any stereo competition (Zimerman, Thibaudet etc all take 2CDs).

Inauguration of the Rogé Edition, a collaboration with Onyx designed to present the complete range of Pascal's work going forward.

Pascal Rogé exemplifies the finest in French pianism; his playing of Poulenc, Satie, Fauré, Saint-Saëns, Debussy and Ravel in particular is characterised by its elegance, beauty and delicate phrasing - his name is simply synonymous with the best playing of French repertory in the world today.

Born in Paris, Pascal Rogé became an exclusive Decca recording artist at the age of 17. He has won many prestigious awards including two Gramophone Awards, a Grand Prix du Disque and an Edison Award for his interpretations of the Ravel and Saint-Saëns concertos. Other Decca recordings include the complete piano works of Poulenc and Ravel, four albums of Satie and two of Debussy, and many fine collaborations in partnership with such artists as Pierre Amoyal, Chantal Juillet, London Winds, Quatuor Ysaye and Felicity Lott. For the Poulenc centenary in 1999 Mr Rogé recorded both piano concertos, the Aubade, the Concerto Champêtre for harpsichord and orchestra, all under Charles Dutoit.

For Oehms Classics Mr Rogé recently recorded, to unanimous acclaim, the Ravel G Major and Gershwin concertos with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under Bertrand de Billy. Pascal Rogé's latest recording project is the Rogé Edition, designed to showcase his recording work going forward and released on the new Onyx label. The first CD release in May 2005 inaugurates his first complete Debussy cycle with the complete Préludes.

Pascal Rogé has performed in almost every major concert hall in the world. Some of the orchestras he has appeared with include the Philadelphia Orchestra, Montreal Symphony, L'Orchestre de Paris, L'Orchestre National de France, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Zurich Tonhalle, L'orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and all the major London orchestras.

He appears regularly in the United States, as well as in Great Britain and is a frequent guest artist in Latin America, Mexico, Australia and especially in Japan. Among the highlights were the Poulenc celebrations in Indianapolis, UK, Italy, France, with the Residentie Orchestra The Hague and at the Perth Festival / Australia as well as his return to the Philadelphia Orchestra. Other activities during the season 1999/2000 included appearances with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and with the Vienna Symphony . Recitals in London's Wigmore Hall, in Berlin, Vienna, and at the Sintra Festival (Portugal), a chamber music tour of Italy and Spain were among the artist's activities during spring of 2000. The season 2000-01 featured appearances at the Grand Teton Festival in Wyoming, in Singapore, and Taipei, concerts with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, recitals in Bergamo, Pescara, Paris, London , to name some. He played concerts at the summer festivals of Chautauqua and Saratoga and went on a 3-months tour of Australia, New Zealand and Japan in the autumn of 2001, dedicated to recitals and chamber music appearances. The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Geneva invited him to play the opening concert of the season 2002/03 under Pinchas Steinberg. Other important appearances during that season included a tour of Southern Germany with the SWR Orchestra Stuttgart, concerts with the Vienna RSO at the Brucknerhaus Linz, followed by appearances at the Gran Canaria Festival. In 2003 he was one of the guest artists at the International Piano Series in London's Queen Elizabeth Hall, performed with the Ysaye Quartet in Amsterdam's Concertgebouw followed by concerts in Weimar, Hamburg and Mexico City. He appeared at the Prague Autumn Festival 2003, toured Japan where he played recitals and chamber music, played chamber music concerts in Dresden with the Staatskapelle and in Weimar, followed by concerts with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and returned to the UK for a series of concerts with the London Mozart Players and performances with the Hallé Orchestra. Future engagements include concerts with Harmonien Bergen with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and a tour of New Zealand.