Horațiu Rădulescu - Complete Solo Piano Works, 1967–2007 (Ian Pace)

Information

Composer: Horațiu Rădulescu

CD1

• Piano Sonata No. 6, Op. 110 "return to the source of light"
• Omaggio a Domenico Scarlatti, Op. 2
• Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 5 "Wiege an den Abgründen/Cradle to Abysses"
• Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 82 "being and non-being create each other"
• Piano Sonata No. 4, Op. 92 "like a well … older than God"

CD2

• Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 106 "settle your dust, this is the primal identity"
• The Origin π III, Op. 100
• Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 86 "you will endure forever"

Ian Pace, piano

Date: 2026

Label: Métier

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In September 2026, Métier Records presents the complete acknowledged solo piano works of Romanian spectral composer Horaţiu Rădulescu, masterfully performed by renowned new music specialist Ian Pace. A close collaborator who premiered Rădulescu’s final Piano Sonata No. 6, Pace delivers authoritative interpretations across a 2-CD set featuring all six piano sonatas, Omaggio a Domenico Scarlatti, and the premiere recording of The Origin $\pi$. The album captures Rădulescu’s evolution from post-war modernism to his signature spectralism—a style fusing massive harmonic sound masses with Byzantine chant, Romanian folk idioms, and Renaissance counterpoint. Enhanced by Pace’s extensive booklet essay, this landmark release provides a definitive overview of a visionary 20th-century voice.

Romanian-born French composer Horaţiu Rădulescu (1942–2008) was a pioneering force in contemporary music, best known as a leading figure of spectralism. After studying in Bucharest and settling in Paris, he developed highly original spectral techniques—outlined in his treatise Sound Plasma—that manipulated harmonic spectra, microtonal intervals, and complex sonorities to create fluid, evolving sound textures. Rădulescu’s international career included studies with leading avant-garde figures, IRCAM research, and founding the European Lucero ensemble. Incorporating diverse influences from the Tao Te Ching and Romanian folk melodies to Byzantine chant, his visionary portfolio spans groundbreaking chamber compositions, piano sonatas, and large-scale orchestral works.

Ian Pace, born in Hartlepool in 1968, is a pianist, writer, and musicologist renowned for his command of modernist repertoire and transcendental virtuosity. Trained at Chetham’s, Oxford, and Juilliard (with György Sándor as a key mentor), he has built an international career performing in 24 countries and premiering over 150 works by leading contemporary composers including Finnissy, Ferneyhough, Dusapin, and Rzewski. He has presented landmark cycles such as Stockhausen’s Klavierstücke I–X and the complete piano works of Finnissy. Currently Lecturer in Music and Head of Performance at City University London, Pace also researches performance practice, music and society, and the postwar avant-garde.