Pianist David Deveau explores the interconnectedness of the lives and careers of three musical titans – Wagner, Liszt, and Brahms – juxtaposing Wagner and Liszt’s “music of the future” with the more traditional, established musical forms of Brahms.

“Deveau gives a sensitive account of a fascinating solo piano transcription of Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll.  It’s a revelation to hear this sublime, intimate work played on the piano. The harmonic and contrapuntal intricacies come through with beautiful transparency.”

- New York Times

“Deveau plays [Siegfried's Idyll] with subtle patience, inflecting and shaping lines to luminous effect. Then again, the pianist is at home in all of this repertoire. ‘Funérailles’ emerges in a cohesive unfolding of ominous and violent grandeur. The other Liszt pieces, while short, also receive keenly felt performances.”

- Gramophone
 

  “Deveau's sympathy for all three composers is strong, and he makes this recital feel genuinely Romantic and passionate without indulging in the excesses of rubato and inaccurate dynamics typical of the style.”

- All Music Guide
 

“The seven selections from Brahms' Opp. 76, 117, 118 and 119 are all masterful pieces and brilliantly played by Deveau. Clearly the pianist has thought out his interpretations in great detail, but never sounds calculating or cold... The C-sharp minor Capriccio, Op. 76 #5, is lovely and stately in Deveau's caressing chords and faultless dynamics.”

- Classical.Net

“Deveau gives [Siegfried's Idyll] an involving, poetic performance that gives this very personal music —written by Wagner to celebrate his son’s birth— a sense of reaching out beyond its original occasion to connect warmly with listeners today. There is connection of a different sort in Liszt’s Funérailles, a kind of musical monument to the dead of the 1848 European revolutions. The power of this piece, and its essential underlying sense of mourning those who died fighting for what might have been, comes through with clarity in Deveau’s impressive reading.”
- Infodad

“Passionate but restrained, [the] performance doesn’t try to overwhelm us with national fervor in the manner of Horowitz or Bolet, but Deveau does convey the tragic muse with authority... Sound [engineering] has captured the carillon sadness of this music in striking hues.”

- Audiophile Audition

“This is another interesting and thought-provoking recital from Steinway. The pianist’s useful introductory essay doesn’t choose sides and neither do his performances; he gives his heart and hands to all three composers, letting us as listeners feel as we will. Excellent sound, excellent piano.”

- American Record Guide

Album Credits

Siegfried Idyll / David Deveau • STNS 30051

Release Date: 09/11/2015

Recorded December, 2014 at Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA
Funded in part by the SHASS Fund, MIT
Producers: Janice Weber, David Deveau
Engineer: Tom Stephenson

Executive Producers: Eric Feidner, Jon Feidner
Artwork: Dr. Michael Durst
Design: Cover to Cover Design, Anilda Carrasquillo
Piano Technician: Christine Lovgren

About the Artist

Pianist David Deveau enjoys a distinguished career internationally, performing in the US, Canada, the UK, Europe and Asia. He has appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops; the San Francisco, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Minnesota, Houston and Miami symphony orchestras; the Toulouse Capitole Orchestra in France and the Qingdao Symphony in China. He has toured China, Taiwan and Japan, appearing in Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Tianan, Nagoya and Kyoto. He has performed at the festivals of Tanglewood, Wolf Trap, Caramoor, Seattle, Mainly Mozart (San Diego) and was Artistic Director of the Rockport (MA) Chamber Music Festival from 1995-2017. Deveau is on the music faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

About Steinway & Sons label

The STEINWAY & SONS music label produces exceptional albums of solo piano music across all genres. The label — a division of STEINWAY & SONS, maker of the world’s finest pianos — is a perfect vessel for producing the finest quality recordings by some of the most talented pianists in the world.