Thierry Pécou (piano), Ensemble Variances, Percussions Claviers de Lyon

Pécou: Tremendum Harmonia Mundi HMC 905269 ***

Pécou: Tremendum Harmonia Mundi HMC905269 ***

French composer and pianist Thierry Pécou (born 1965) is a man who likes to engage with foreign cultures. The influences on this new disc are from Latin and South America. Tremendum (2005-10) is a "concerto-carnaval" – think Brazil – originally for piano and orchestra, with the orchestral part here arranged for flute, saxophone, cello and five percussionists, so that it often sounds as much extrovert percussion concerto as piano concerto. L'Arbre aux fleurs (2010), for five percussionists, is a festive take on the traditions of the marimba in Mexico. Manoa (2005), for bass flute, bass clarinet and cello, and Soleil-Tigre (2009) for cello and piano, obsess about darker rituals. Also included are the short, upbeat Danzón for solo flute, and, lightest of all, an arrangement of guitarist Guillermo Diego's Paseo de la Reforma. url.ie/55ay

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan is a music critic and Irish Times contributor