Santiago Cañón Valencia & Katherine Austin - Diable vert (2019) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Currently Head of Piano at the Conservatorium of Music, University of Waikato, in Hamilton, Katherine Austin was the winner of the inaugural New Zealand Young Musician of the Year competition and the New Zealand National Piano Award, both in 1982. Her principal mentors included Janetta McStay, Bryan Sayer and Irina Zaritskaya. She has performed as soloist in New Zealand with all the major orchestras including the NZSO and Auckland Philharmonia, and performs regularly in Europe, Australasia, China and the Americas as the pianist of the New Zealand Chamber Soloists and the Tennant-Austin Duo. Between 2008 and 2016 Katherine and Santiago have performed in over 100 concerts together.

"The 14 tracks on Diable Vert offer lighter fare: 70 minutes of potential encores, from Saint-Saens' graceful swan to Rimsky-Korsakov's busy bumblebee, particularly agile here, taking just longer than a minute to accomplish its flying mission. Valencia's unforced and sweetly lyrical tone serves him well in a moving Prayer by Bloch…An energetic account of a Schumann Adagio and Allegro are among the more serious delights. English cellist Steven Isserlis described this as being "as romantic as romantic can be", a judgement totally vindicated by the incandescent performance in this recording." (William Dart, NZ Herald)

Tracklist:
1. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – Pampeana No. 2, Op. 21 (09:40)
2. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – Danse du diable vert (04:09)
3. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – Beau soir, L. 6 (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (02:56)
4. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – Adagio & Allegro, Op. 70 (09:13)
5. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – The Tale of Tsar Saltan: Flight of the Bumblebee (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (01:12)
6. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – Lejanía interior (07:55)
7. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – From Jewish Life, B. 54: No. 1, Prayer (04:48)
8. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – Concert-Etudes, Op. 55: No. 1, Spinnlied (02:23)
9. Santiago Canon Valencia – 24 Caprices, Op. 1: No. 24 in A Minor (Performed on Cello) (05:46)
10. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – Poema lll, Op. 94 (04:10)
11. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – Pezzo capriccioso in B Minor, Op. 62, TH 62 (Version for Cello & Piano) (06:08)
12. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – Humoresque, Op. 5 (02:12)
13. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – 14 Romances, Op. 34: No. 14, Vocalise in C-Sharp Minor (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (06:45)
14. Santiago Canon Valencia & Katherine Austin – The Carnival of the Animals, R. 125: XIII. The Swan (Arr. for Cello & Piano) (03:10)

Personnel:
Santiago Canon Valencia, cello
Katherine Austin, piano