Album review: Claire Désert, Trio Wanderer, Bruno Mantovani (Mirare)

Young French composer Bruno Mantovani studied with Boulez at Ircam before embarking on his meteoric rise. Recorded with piercing clarity, this selection of pieces performed by various combinations of pianist Claire Désert and the Trio Wanderer reveals certain distinctive tropes, notably a liking for repetitive trills and throbbing rhythmic pulses, contrasted in his inward-looking, almost solipsistic piano sonata “Suonare” with a more contemplative counterpoint.

“Huit Moments Musicaux” finds strings and piano swapping roles constantly, with either high-pitched whines behind rippling glissandi, or deep piano tremors behind darting string figures, while jazz influences are discernible in the “Cinq Pièces pour Paul Klee”.

Download: Suonare; Huit Moments Musicaux; Cinq Pièces pour Paul Klee