Ariana

Description

The composer Yves Levêque is absolutely convincing in this program that is as ambitious as it is demanding. His Piano Concerto in C minor "Ariana" is a work in its own right; its three movements impose themselves on the listener with the breath of inspiration, a lofty vision, and an imagination that plays with the intimate and the spectacular. It synthesizes the great romantic concertos of Liszt, Chopin, especially Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, as the writing, without sacrificing complexity, knows how to be powerful, sometimes martial, and equally deep and tender; with a keen sense of refined orchestration, playing with timbres (flutes, harp, cello, clarinet... associated with the piano's singing), and harmonies striking with voluptuousness or suspended dreaminess... It is equally ambitious to pair it with "Prélude, Choral et Fugue" FWV21 by the spiritual yet original César Franck, a major piece of French romanticism in the era of Wagner. For these two linked pieces, a temperament at the keyboard is required to meet the multiple challenges of two spectacular scores; in this regard, pianist Caroline Fauchet is not lacking in depth or character. The confrontation of the two works, from Levêque to Franck, highlights the powerful architecture that underpins their respective development.