In 2023, Antonio Meneses (cello) and Cristian Budu (piano) finally come together to record an album. The scope of this work, After a Dream, released by Azul Music in celebration of the label’s 30th anniversary, becomes evident when briefly recalling the careers of these two eminent figures in classical music. Meneses won the gold medal at the Tchaikovsky Competition, performed as a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic, and recorded with Herbert von Karajan, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and Maria João Pires. Budu was awarded the Grand Prize at the Clara Haskil Competition, and his recordings were honored with “Cinq Diapasons” by Diapason magazine and “Editor’s Choice” by Gramophone.

After a Dream is dedicated to French masters of the 19th and 20th centuries. They include César Franck (1822-1890), Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), and Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921).

In the interpretation of Meneses and Budu, Fauré’s Après un Rêve combines fervor and serenity. When the duo performs Franck’s Sonata, the dialogue between the instruments nods not only to the expressiveness of singing but also to the eloquence of speech, as their phrases inquire, affirm, and exclaim. In Vocalise-Étude en Forme de Habanera, the variety of sonorities, flowing ceaselessly in this recording, imparts to Ravel’s composition a sense of musical time that seems much more expansive than its minutes—a recurring perception throughout the album. Ultimately, After a Dream showcases the paradox of memorable interpretations— the sensation that music arises solely within them and belongs exclusively to them.

Text: Daniel Bento – @enxerguemusica