'I like to play the cycle of Preludes without interruption, with the same tension, a certain underlying fear even in the most serene preludes.' Two years after his CD devoted to the Waltzes, Alexandre Tharaud returns to Chopin, the composer he has played most often and who has never failed to move him deeply. In addition to the Preludes in A flat and Op.45 and the Trois nouvelles études, he has provided the cycle with a more recent echo in music by Federico Mompou. In their personality, their careers, their exclusive relationship with the piano, their attention to sonority, and their inward melody, the two composers have much in common.