Franck: Préludes, Fugues & Chorals

A recording devoted entirely to César Franck’s piano music is something of a rarity, and even more so one played with the sympathy that Lugansky brings here. He includes the three works in the tripartite form that so attracted Franck, the Prélude, Choral et Fugue being the most often encountered. He plays with a lovely sense of fantasy on an impressively maintained Steinway and his love of this music shows through in every bar. The Prélude, Aria et Final, Franck’s last work for piano, has an almost Lisztian feel, which Lugansky exploits with great flair. An important release.