The Schubert project

Description

Triple winner of the Victoires de la musique classique between 2006 and 2011, Bertrand Chamayou is one of the most prominent French pianists on the international stage. His interpretations of two major works by Franz Liszt, the "12 Études d'exécution transcendante" and the "Années de pélerinage," as well as his recent programs dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn and César Franck, have received acclaim from critics and the most demanding piano enthusiasts. It is in this context that this new program of selected pieces from the abundant work of Franz Schubert is presented. Once again, the selection made leaves no room for ease with the two pieces of pianistic bravura that are the "Fantaisie en ut majeur opus 15, D. 760," known as "Wanderer," and the three "Klavierstücke," posthumous opus numbers 1, 2, and 3, D. 946. By choosing these pieces, Bertrand Chamayou steps into the shoes of the Austrian composer who died at 31, two centuries later, who played his new creations for his friends at evenings called "schubertiades." The pianist's great mastery, particularly in the last movement Allegro of the "Wanderer Fantaisie," meets the demands required for its interpretation; did Schubert not announce: "It is the devil who should play this"? In addition to these works of great difficulty that surprise with their accomplishment coupled with a very assured personal reading, the program includes the beautiful and well-known score of "Auf dem wasser zu singen" ("To Sing on the Water"), D. 774 - in its instrumental version - and the remarkable Allegretto in C minor D. 915, to be rediscovered immediately. Other miniatures complete the recital, such as an excerpt from the cycle "Die Schone Mullerin" ("The Miller and the Brook"), a short and profound Litanei D. 343, and two Ländler D. 790 and D. 366, before concluding with the charming waltz "Kupelwieser Walzer" in G flat major, D. Anh 1/14, absent from the Schubert catalog but played in 1826 and passed down through time, notably by the transcription of Richard Strauss in 1943. Bertrand Chamayou delivers an expert performance in every respect.