The piano sonata cycle by Swiss composer Jean-Paul Liardet was recorded by pianist Olga Riazantceva-Schwarz in 2022. With her understanding of style and virtuosity, the pianist delivers a brilliant and moving interpretation of the sonatas. The creative exchange process between the performer and the composer made it possible to bring the musical ideas to the listener in the most accurate way. Four of the six sonatas appear in this recording as a premiere recording.

The six sonatas were composed between 1967 and 2018. Over such a long period, the piano cycle accompanies the artistic path of Jean-Paul Liardet. The entire cycle is a neo-romantic work full of emotion: passionate movements and moments of calm are sometimes radically opposed to each other, as an expression of conflict and a mixture of revolt, anger and provocation, which also finds gentleness and comfort in the slow movements of their exhaustion. The composer does not shy away from the many stylistic influences, from baroque music to jazz, that make this piano sonata cycle an exciting journey for listeners to discover some familiar elements in Jean-Paul Liardet's new work.

Jean-Paul Liardet, was born in Lausanne on October 5, 1939. He completed his musical studies at the Geneva Conservatory in the classes of Bernard Reichel, Lionel Rogg, André-François Marescotti and Louis Hiltbrand. Jean-Paul gave his first concerto for piano and orchestra in 1959 in Bern with the Collegium Musicum in Basel. In addition to piano works, his compositions include the Mass, the Requiem premiered in 1981 at Lausanne Cathedral, and the songs commissioned by the International Society of Contemporary Music (SIMC) in 1983.

Olga Riazantceva-Schwarz is a Russian-born pianist and composer living in Germany. In the course of her young career she has already won several prizes at international competitions, such as the 3rd prize at the International Music Competition "Grand Prize Virtuoso London 2016" and the Hanns Eisler Prize at the International Piano Festival in Vienna. She regularly plays with numerous orchestras and in chamber music ensembles at home and abroad. Olga is a member of the Alafia Ensemble and forms a duo with flutist Richard Schwarz. As a pianist, Olga has also performed at international music festivals in Italy, Poland, Austria, England and Germany, including the "Acht Brücken" in the Kölner Philharmonie, Beethovenfest in Bonn, Echo from Montepulciano in Italy. Since 2020 she has a teaching position for piano at the Carl von Ossietzky University in Oldenburg. In addition to her performing career, Olga is also active as a composer. She regularly collaborates with theater and film directors, creating contemporary compositions for various instrumentations.