1} Henry Purcell: Minuet in A minor, Z 649
2} Georg Friedrich Handel: Minuet in G minor, from Suite in B-flat major, HWV 434
3} Johannes Brahms: Menuetto I in G major and Menuetto II in G minor, Op. 11 (arr by Clara Schumann)
4} Lodovico Maria Giustini: Minuet, from Sonata in C minor, Op. 1 No. 2
5} Ricardo Vines: Menuet spectrale, à la mémoire de Maurice Ravel
6} Franz Schubert: Minuet in C-sharp minor, D 600
7} Isaac Albéniz: Minuetto del gallo, from Sonata No. 5, Op. 82
8} Johann Sebastian Bach: Minuet in G minor, BWV 842
9} Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Variation VI in D minor, from 9 variations on a Minuet by Jean-Pierre Duport, K 573
10} Ludwig van Beethoven: Minuet in G major, WoO 10 No. 2
11} Jean-Philippe Rameau: Deuxième Menuet, from Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de Clavecin, Suite in G
12} François Couperin: Menuet et Double in G minor, from Pièces de Clavecin, Premier Ordre
13} Franz Joseph Haydn: Minuet, from Sonata in G major No. 5, Hob. XVI/11
14} Johann Krieger: Minuet in A minor, from Sechs musicalische Partien, Partita No. 6 in B-flat major
15} Jan Ladislav Dussek: Tempo di minuetto con moto, Canone alla seconda, from Sonata in F minor, Op. 77 "L'invocation"
16} Domenico Scarlatti: Minuet, from Sonata in D minor, K 77
17} Domenico Zipoli: Minuet, from Suite in D minor
18} Antonin Dvorák: Minuet in A-flat major, Op. 28 No. 1
19} Maurice Ravel: Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn
20} Georg Friedrich Handel: Same as above (arr by Wilhelm Kempff, from "Music des Barock und Rokoko", No. 13)
21} Samuel Barber: Menuetto, from Themes, No. 1

This is certainly a different but interesting concept for an album, in which pianist Alessandro Stella presents, in a semi-chronological order with Purcell being the earliest and Barber the latest, the birth, evolution, and demise, of the "Minuet". It is hard to pinpoint the exact moment when the Minuet was introduced. It is of French origin (Menuet from 'menu' or 'minute' for small delicate steps) and is believed to have been used as part of Sinfonias within early Baroque operas. It was then incorporated within orchestral suites and used as dances for 'royal' events. It is closely related to the waltz due to its 3/4 meter, and could even be considered a distant cousin of the Bohemian Ländler. As you can see, many composers have had a stab at this dance form, although I'm surprised to see that the famous Minuet in G by Ignace Jan Paderewski (which every piano student was subjected to) is not part of this recording.

Alessandro Stella's expressive playing definitely enhances the delicate nature, grace and nobility inherent to most of these pieces, from the highly ornamented Couperin to the wistful Barber, the jazzy Ricardo Vines, and the more complex examples by Dussek and Dvorák. And the best for me is how well he captures the deep melancholy of the Wilhelm Kempff arrangement of the Handel Minuet, as if Kempff was aware that the tender little 'Minuetto' was a thing of the past.

As an added bonus, the booklet notes do not contain any informative details about this recording or the music, but instead present in its original French, and in English and Italian translations, a fantastic little short-story by Guy de Maupassant (the French equivalent to Edgar Allan Poe) titled "Menuet", in which ghostly characters desperately try to cling to life by performing, inaperçu, their beloved dance. This is a recording that certainly deserves to be part of any and all decent CD collections of piano music.