Rudolf Escher - Arcana, suite for piano

Rudolf Escher (1912 - 1980) - Arcana, suite for piano (1944)
I. Preludio [0:00]
II. Toccata [4:46]
III. Ciaccona [8:36]
IV. Finale [15:02]
Ronald Brautigam, piano (1984)
Rudolf Escher's Arcana, originally titled Arcana Musae Dona, is a 4-movement suite for piano typically lasting around 22 minutes.
"The alchemistic term Arcanum has been used here in the sense of 'secret remedy'. 'Secret' refers to the circumstances under which the work was composed in 1944 during the German oppression of the Netherlands, when inspiration proved to be a remedy in a world of mechanised terror. The title 'secret remedies granted by the muse' is intended symbolically and has no programmatic purport. It is the name of music which in the first place aims at expressing the revolt of the inspired soul against degeneration and destruction."
(source: preface to the score)
Pedal markings: imgur.com/a/kQpTcRK
Original audio: • Rudolf Escher: Arcana,...

[@SCRIABINIST]

Although there are clear influences, this is a superb work. There's no tediousness or banality in any sense of the words.

[@ChrisBreemer]

Without any doubt the most impressive Dutch piano work ever !

[@GNGianopoulos]

What a masterpiece.

[@greatone777j]

Ravel on steroids...... marvelous piece nonetheless. Just as worthy....... great playing by Brautigam. Thanks for posting.

[@scriabinismydog2439]

THIS IS INCREDIBLE

[@SeigneurReefShark]

Yayyy

[@yagiz885]

I sense a fresh side of mysticism, thanks for uploading.

[@mrspoonofbuttonmoon]

Blimey. This is powerful stuff.

[@hues7072]

What a hidden Gem!

[@ChrisBreemer]

Many thanks for posting this with such excellent scans ! 👍

[@skylarlimex]

you can really see the influence of ravel's left hand piano concerto in the final movement as well as the miroirs and of course gaspard de la nuit

[@Alix777.]

Roussel

[@SCRIABINIST]

Scarbo permeates the Toccata while Le Gibet's soundscape is felt through the Preludio. A lot of textures in the Finale do resemble the Concerti but I feel like Liszt's 2nd Ballade was an influence as well.

[@verslaflamme8185]

absolutely great.

[@benaraujomusic]

Apparently this composer was the half-brother of famous optical illusion artist MC Escher (or Maurits Cornelis Escher).

[@norwalltino]

Fantastic music and performance 🙂

[@peterittzes]

I've always liked this piece, as well as the other Dutch compositions recorded by Brautigam (Smit, Andriessen, Pijper etc.) Thank you for the video

[@mysterium364]

This is beautiful.

[@RiccardoFaggi]

A really masterpiece! Wow!

[@kotopec4978]

This piece was heavily inspired by Ravel's piano works. It's so nice to hear modern take on impressionism.

[@marcosPRATA918]

Satisfez minha admiração pelas notas graves e pedal. Impressionismo porreta!

[@zgart]

Holy shit this needs to be played more what an awesome piece! Also, are those O and I figures pedal markings? Never seen that before

[@AndreyRubtsovRU]

Basically just to mark where to start and to end precisely

[@zgart]

@@AndreyRubtsovRU yeah thats what I thought, i quite like it! Especially more than ped and then the star or the brackets

[@AndreyRubtsovRU]

@@zgart whats the diff? None, i think.

[@zgart]

@@AndreyRubtsovRU ped and the star looks can get really clunky, personally i just like the look of this nothjng more haha

[@jackconklin919]

Love the piece and would love to play it, where can I find the score?

[@fedotpanteleev1334]

Ravel lässt grüßen.

[@mangle9143]

What do the circles mean?

[@eliiphim]

third movement is harder than it looks lol

[@AndreyRubtsovRU]

I love how first marking just doesnt mean anything. What would i change as a pianist? NOTHING

[@central9823]

like Ravel × Carl Vine