 Il est rare que l’on consacre un disque entier à la berceuse. C’est pourtant la tentative particulièrement réussie de la pianiste Anna Geniushene. Par sa voix tendre et rassurante la berceuse apaise et sécurise l’enfant et le piano d’Anna Geniushene remplit parfaitement cette fonction avec cet enregistrement qui réunit dix-huit berceuses composées aux 19 et 20ème siècles par des compositeurs européens et américains. Toutes ces pièces expriment à leur manière la tendresse et la douceur mais de façon très caractérisée en fonction de leur époque et de leurs origines, éliminant ainsi tout risque d’uniformité et d’ennui à l’écoute de ce disque original. Bien évidemment ces berceuses, compte tenu de leur fonction, ne reflètent pas exactement le langage de chaque compositeur mais permettent d’avoir une approche plus intimiste de son style comme le Wiegenlied de Liszt aux moyens minimalistes. Si certains compositeurs sont bien connus, nous en découvrons d’autres moins courus tels Dvarionas, Rebikov, ou Desyatnikov (dont Lukas Geniusas, le mari d’Anna est un ardent défenseur). La palette sonore d’Anna Geniushene séduit par sa richesse et son raffinement n’excluant nullement puissance et virtuosité comme dans la percutante berceuse d’Hindemith. (Jean-Noël Regnier) A unique and imaginative collection newly recorded by a recent star of the Van Cliburn Piano Competition. Anna Geniushene’s fresh, layered, and powerful interpretations won her a worldwide following at the 2022 edition of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, where she took Silver Medal with a stunning account of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto which the critic for Gramophone compared in its power and nuance to Van Cliburn himself. Born in Moscow, Anna Geniushene pursued graduate studies in London and now lives in Lithuania with her husband, the pianist Lukas Geniusas. In her own booklet introduction, she explains the inspiration for this quirky collection of instrumental lullabies. The Berceuse is ‘associated with tenderness, care, purest love, and the most sensitive moments in our lives.’ She dedicates the album to her two young sons. Perhaps the most celebrated Berceuse of all, by Chopin, is missing, because it was Anna Geniushene’s particular wish to find and share neglected examples of the genre, even by well-known composers. Debussy composed the Berceuse heroique during the First World War as a tribute to the soldiers on the Western Front. The Berceuse Elegiaque of Busoni is better known in its orchestral guise. The brief Berceuse by Hindemith, unpublished in his lifetime, ‘draws listeners’ attention by its utterly eloquent and typically sarcastic character, which has nothing in common with traditional lullabies.’ The sheer diversity of composers makes for a continually varied sequence. George Crumb evokes a magical night-time stillness with a minimum of notes. Mompou’s Berceuse is likewise remarkable for its distilled serenity, whereas the examples by Granados, John Field and Liszt bring comfort with more Romantically moulded melodies in the tradition of Chopin. Anna Geniushene closes the album with two Russian Berceuses, by Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky, lyrical, simple and utterly beguiling in her hands.
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