Amandine Savary / Vineta Sareika MOZART Piano and Violin Sonatas, K. 376, K. 379, K. 526

 PIANO AND VIOLIN SONATAS K. 376 / K. 379 / K. 526

Amandine Savary BACH Toccatas

Having previously distinguished herself on disc as a chamber music collaborator, the young French pianist Amandine Savary makes her CD solo debut with Bach’s Toccatas. It was a good idea to do so, not only in that the catalog contains relatively few piano versions of all seven works (as opposed to a gazillion-and-one piano Goldberg Variations), but also because Savary plays superbly. 

Savary may not match Angela Hewitt’s refinement of articulation in the fugues or Stepan Simonian’s bravura, yet there’s something to be said for her lighter, more scampering treatment of the G minor’s first upbeat episode (measure 18), or her gentle easing into the D major and E minor Toccatas’ introductions. Her brisk and pliable sweep through the D major’s fugal finale minimizes the music’s tendency to ramble in lesser hands. The F-sharp minor’s slow interlude transpires with lilting delicacy, in contrast to the D minor fugue’s zestful drive. My only quibble is that the C minor’s central fugue slows down slightly as it progresses, with the textures becoming less transparent in turn. That aside, Savary’s inherent musicality and elegance leave a largely positive impression, and her well-regulated Yamaha CFX Concert Grand is vibrantly reproduced. Well worth hearing. (Jed Distler)

Amandine Savary SCHUBERT Impromptus

For more than ten years Amandine Savary has performed in Europe as well as Japan, the USA and Australia, building a substantial reputation as an accomplished and versatile pianist and chamber musician. 

After graduating with Honour from the Caen Conservatory in Normandy, she joined the Royal Academy of Music of London in 2003 to study under Professor Christopher Elton and Alexander Satz. She obtained her Masters Concert Project Degree with distinction and is now an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music. 

Amandine Savary is a laureate of the Tillett Trust, the Kirckman Concert Society, the Philip and Dorothy Green Award, the Park Lane Group and the Fondation d’Entreprise Banque Populaire. Her work has been supported by Help Musicians, the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, Hattori Foundation and the Worshipful Company of Musicians. 

Amandine Savary has played under the baton of Moshe Atzmon, Hilary Devan Watton, Murray Stewart, Augustin Dumay, Jean- Claude Casadesus, Gérard Korsten, Emmanuel Krivine, Pascal Rophé, with orchestras such as the London Mozart Players, the London Pro Orchestra, the EUCO Orchestra, the Orchestre de Bretagne, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, and also very regularly with her partners of the Trio Dali - Jack Liebeck, violin and Christian-Pierre La Marca, cello. 

She has performed in Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Tokyo (Suntory Hall, Tsuda Hall), New York (Kaufmann Hall), London (Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, King’s Place), Paris (Maison de Radio France, Auditorium du Louvre), Brussels (Flagey, Bozar, Royal Palace), Santander (Palacio de Festivales), Dijon (Auditorium), Montpellier (Corum), Osaka (Izumi Hall), Monaco (Opéra Garnier) to name but a few. 

Her discography include Ravel’s and Schubert’s Piano Trios for Fuga Libera; French songs for cello and piano for Sony; Mendelssohn’s Piano Trios for ZigZag Territoires and Bach’s Toccatas for muso. Awards for these recordings include the prestigious Diapason d’Or and Gramophone magazine’s Editor’s Choice amongst many others. Amandine Savary has taught piano and chamber music at the Royal Academy of Music since September 2015. (www.amandinesavary.com)