The pianist Daniel Isoir, founder of La Petite Symphonie and a great specialist of historic pianofortes, is the son of one of the greatest French organists, who died in 2016, André Isoir. Like all children of musicians, he was bathed in music from birth, was impregnated with the organ repertory and notably with the works of César Franck, whom his father cherished, and of whom he recorded the complete works in 1975 on a Cavaillé-Coll.

As a homage to his father, Daniel Isoir in turn plunges into these scores he has known forever, written originally for the piano (yet often passed on to posterity in the organ repertory), or being the result of celebrated transcriptions from the organ to the piano.

A virtuoso pianist, Franck had it all to succeed in his career: a father with an outsize ambition for his offspring, an emperor’s first name, hands with interminable fingers, transcendent technique and the support of Franz Liszt. Everything, except the charisma of the virtuoso! And although he continued throughout his life to give piano lessons in order to feed himself, he effected a reconversion and became the famous organist, titular of Sainte-Clotilde, who for 38 years no longer composed for the piano while leaving an indelible imprint on the organ repertory.

It was thus not until 1884 and 1887, having acquired a solid reputation as a composer, that he wrote his two great triptychs that belong to the great patrimony of the French piano; the third triptych, Prélude, Fugue et Variation was written down conjointly by ‘Father Franck’ for large organ and for piano/harmonium duet; we listen to it here in the transcription by Harold Bauer. The celebrated 3ème Choral for organ completes this programme (in a transcription by the virtuoso pianist Blanche Selva), along with the bewitching Danse lente as the cherry on the cake.

In order to record this music with its contained lyricism, its fluid, subtle harmonies, illuminated by memories as fleeting as they are dazzling of high virtuosity, Daniel Isoir has chosen an Érard piano of 1875, setting it off with magnificent luminosity and sumptuous colours.