2023-08-09 09:00:00
“La Roque” is not only a place of pleasure, it is also a place of pilgrimage. People come here to refresh their souls, surrounded by nature, amidst chattering cicadas and hungry mosquitoes. With its white cap that wants to convert the green of the trees, its holy water font without frogs and its bleachers kneeling in front of the stage, the Parc de Florans is the Saint Peter’s Basilica of the festival.
Further on, other chapels invite to ecumenical encounters, to the baptism of young talents or to the return of prodigal stars, but the park with 365 plane trees that Paul Onoratini and René Martin consecrated in 1981 represents the holy of holies where the great -evening masses introduce a large audience to musical communion.
In forty-three years, we have seen the altar boy grow and the number of his flock grow. Or how a piano placed in front of a basin in a lost hole in the South has become a cathedral of the world keyboard. In forty-three years, we have seen the birth of stars like Hélène Grimaud and the disappearance of great masters. Their memory mingles with the scent of flowers and, in the silence, their presence envelops us according to the beautiful expression “an angel passes”.
Poignant exhibition of portraits – Nicholas Angelich, Brigitte Engerer, Nelson Freire – resuscitated among the living – Martha Argerich, Yevgueni Kissine, Maria-Joao Pires – like a bouquet of immortelles which, in the ground or closer to the sun, never fade .
Dazzling style lesson
The 43rd edition opens with a complete set of five Beethoven concertos over three evenings. First the last of the series, “The Emperor”, the most famous. As an aperitif, the Orchester de chambre de Paris plays an overture by Emilie Mayer, a prolific German composer, under the fine and supple direction of Lionel Bringuier, which sounds like Rossini.
At 42, pianist Bertrand Chamayou still looks like a student who got into the wrong classroom. No doubt, to give himself countenance, he kisses the first violin. Would he if it wasn’t a woman? Why reduce the function by emphasizing a genre? Is it modern to mark a difference or is it rather by respecting equality? And then is a schoolboy’s kiss appropriate before “The Emperor”? While we’re at it, let’s dance the caterpillar to the latest quartets!
READ ALSOAnna Netrebko electrifies the Chorégies d’Orange “First the church, then the brothel”, said Arthur Rubinstein to justify his choice to play Beethoven before Saint-Saëns. Bertrand Chamayou chooses to mix the two, dissolving grandeur and emotion in the scales, thus giving birth to a hybrid concerto, brilliant but hollow. In Symphony No. 4, Lionel Bringuier offers us a dazzling lesson in style. The orchestra shines with all its fires and the desks dialogue with a verve authorized by a small staff where everything is heard and nothing is hidden.
Noble and intimate interpretation
Two days later, pianist Kadouch played the first two concertos with the Hong Kong Sinfonietta conducted by Yip Wing-sie. In these times of wise deprivation, let’s think about calculating the carbon footprint of such a concert… The pianist begins with the second – composed before and published after. Often, we prefer the first, better done, then we come to adore the second with its youthful flaws, its moments of grace, its incredible pace.
READ ALSOClassical music: the beautiful surprises of the Verbier FestivalReal communication is established with the musicians and the conductor. David Kadouch has a lot to say and he deploys a lot of imagination to let us hear it. All is not successful, but it is alive and passionate. We forgive him a tendency to want to dominate the piano instead of letting the music come, because he defends this endearing work with fire. In the first concerto, the peremptory tone hides updated fragilities. Let’s forget the faux pas, the real musician recognizes himself by what he knows how to land on his feet.
A week later, Bruce Liu, the last winner of the Warsaw Chopin Competition, was invited to play Chopin’s two concertos. Born in Paris to Chinese parents, he grew up in Montreal with his father. A warm temperament, an infallible technique and the hurt of having been separated from his mother form an ideal combination to unlock the secrets of the young Chopin.
On a rather dull Fazioli piano, with a very clear playing, sparing pedal, Bruce Liu takes risks in view of a noble and intimate interpretation. At the head of the Orchester philharmonique de Marseille, Lawrence Foster diffuses an ardent and virile sound that lets the pianist’s classic fantasy flourish. Their designs might seem opposite, they complement each other harmoniously. Bruce Liu combines simplicity of expression with freedom of rubato. This is admirable, as it is supported by the solid architecture of the orchestra. Having also started with the second – same reasons as above – the Canadian Ariel receives a sign from Heaven when the cicadas fall silent just before the Adagio of the first. A few days later, curiosity pushes us to go listen to Adi Neuhaus, 27-year-old Israeli, living in Berlin, but above all grandson of Heinrich – the teacher of Richter and Gilels – and son of Stanislas, great love of Brigitte Engerer. Sweetness in the op. 101 of Beethoven, elegance of his mazurkas of Chopin, depth of his Scriabine. This pianist is a prince. Not only does he know everything about the Art of the piano (sic), but he embodies it.
The same evening, the Japanese Mao Fujita is back. His pure-hearted Mozart enchanted the Parc Florans last year, his Polonaises by Chopin thrill us this year. This 24-year-old boy is a godsend. He smiles, sits and plays, drawing treasures of color, warmth and spontaneity from the instrument. In the second part, Liszt’s Sonata convinces us less. Martha Argerich claims that when she was playing Chopin and Liszt at the same concert, they were jealous of each other (especially Chopin) and something was wrong. Could this be the curse repeating itself?
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