Rachmaninoff / Ravel: Tableaux en Miroirs

Under the title “Tableaux en miroirs,” Catalin Serban presents two piano cycles composed almost at the same time but aesthetically very different: Maurice Ravel’s “Miroirs” from 1904/05 and Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Études-tableaux” op. 39 from 1916/17. Rachmaninoff’s nine études combine late-Romantic expressiveness with striking contrasts and a frequently melancholic mood, while Ravel experimented with tone color, different registers, and finely nuanced piano textures in the five “Miroirs.” Serban conceives of the juxtaposition as a musical arc that brings out both the tensions and connections between the two cycles.

The Berlin-based pianist studied at the University of the Arts Berlin and the University of Music and Performing Arts Lübeck and performs internationally as a soloist and chamber musician. Late Romanticism and Impressionism have been a particular focus of his recordings to date; his discography includes solo albums featuring works by Enescu, Schubert, Scriabine, and Chopin, among others.