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The program included Nocturnes for two pianos, Petite Suite for piano
four hands and Jeux, Poeme danse ( games, dancing poem) for two pianos by
Debussy as arranged by Bavouzet. Part 2 of the program included Jeux d’enfants
(children’s games) by Bizet (the well-known composer of Carmen ) followed by
an “American in Paris” composed by the American composer of Russian origin
George Gershwin. Three female piano players shared the burden with Bavouzet
once as duo and once as four hands. All of them received ample admiration and
applause.
It is interesting to note the “ love story” sometimes interrupted by jealousy
between the US and France since American Independence. This mutual
fascination was evident at this concert. The first piece, nocturnes (arranged
by Ravel) was a masterpiece like an oil painting of an impressionist artist with
festivities in the fog and a colored small boat in the sea . Ravel used to think of
Debussy as “ the most phenomenal genius in the history of French music “ and
Debussy believed that “Ravel had the most refined ear there has ever been”.
Bavouzet has a natural effervescence that is characteristic of his playing and he
masters playing both French composers. He describes the difference between
them by summing it up “ Debussy you need to go to; Ravel comes to you. “ In
other words, Debussy pushes the listener to an intellectual level that makes one
cleverer. The “Dancing poem” was written in 1913 as an idea for a ballet. Debussy
was in the habit of preparing a short score for the piano before orchestrating it.
This ballet portrays a scene at dusk on a hot summer day; a tennis ball has been
lost; a young man and two girls are searching for it as if they were playing chidren’
games but it is a sensual episode of flirtation. Amazingly, Bavouzet checked
the orchestral version performed in Paris, undertook extensive research of the
original lost version for 2 pianos which was verified by a German specialist in
1998, and then prepared the two-piano transcription which we heard for the first
time.
Bizet wrote the delightful tunes of ” Jeux d’enfants” in 1871 a year after the
Frensh- German war when Bismarck’s troops occupied Paris. It consists of 12
short movements non of which exceeds two minutes describing the games most
liked by children such as : the swing, dolls, the merry-go-round, soap bubbles, and
leapfrog.
The last piece is the famous rhapsodic ballet “American in Paris” composed by
Gershwin originally for the piano in 1928 depicting his visit to the French capital
and its vitality and noisy streets. It evokes the sights an American visitor sees as
illustrated by the “ walking theme” that absorbs the French atmosphere. He mixes
American jazz tunes and blues with French melodies typical of Debussy’s style .
For the orchestral version performed in New York, he even included saxophones
and automobile horns of some Parisian taxis that he had brought back with him.
The work was an instant success in the “ Jazz age” as described by the American
novelist Scott Fitzgerald. The use of the word jazz came about for the first time in
1913 to describe any artistic activity characterized by vigor, happiness and joie de
vivre. Later the term was confined to music.
Bavouzet was accompanied sometimes by Soyeon Kate Lee or Anne-Marie
McDermott or Wu Han and sometimes they paired together without him.
four hands and Jeux, Poeme danse ( games, dancing poem) for two pianos by
Debussy as arranged by Bavouzet. Part 2 of the program included Jeux d’enfants
(children’s games) by Bizet (the well-known composer of Carmen ) followed by
an “American in Paris” composed by the American composer of Russian origin
George Gershwin. Three female piano players shared the burden with Bavouzet
once as duo and once as four hands. All of them received ample admiration and
applause.
It is interesting to note the “ love story” sometimes interrupted by jealousy
between the US and France since American Independence. This mutual
fascination was evident at this concert. The first piece, nocturnes (arranged
by Ravel) was a masterpiece like an oil painting of an impressionist artist with
festivities in the fog and a colored small boat in the sea . Ravel used to think of
Debussy as “ the most phenomenal genius in the history of French music “ and
Debussy believed that “Ravel had the most refined ear there has ever been”.
Bavouzet has a natural effervescence that is characteristic of his playing and he
masters playing both French composers. He describes the difference between
them by summing it up “ Debussy you need to go to; Ravel comes to you. “ In
other words, Debussy pushes the listener to an intellectual level that makes one
cleverer. The “Dancing poem” was written in 1913 as an idea for a ballet. Debussy
was in the habit of preparing a short score for the piano before orchestrating it.
This ballet portrays a scene at dusk on a hot summer day; a tennis ball has been
lost; a young man and two girls are searching for it as if they were playing chidren’
games but it is a sensual episode of flirtation. Amazingly, Bavouzet checked
the orchestral version performed in Paris, undertook extensive research of the
original lost version for 2 pianos which was verified by a German specialist in
1998, and then prepared the two-piano transcription which we heard for the first
time.
Bizet wrote the delightful tunes of ” Jeux d’enfants” in 1871 a year after the
Frensh- German war when Bismarck’s troops occupied Paris. It consists of 12
short movements non of which exceeds two minutes describing the games most
liked by children such as : the swing, dolls, the merry-go-round, soap bubbles, and
leapfrog.
The last piece is the famous rhapsodic ballet “American in Paris” composed by
Gershwin originally for the piano in 1928 depicting his visit to the French capital
and its vitality and noisy streets. It evokes the sights an American visitor sees as
illustrated by the “ walking theme” that absorbs the French atmosphere. He mixes
American jazz tunes and blues with French melodies typical of Debussy’s style .
For the orchestral version performed in New York, he even included saxophones
and automobile horns of some Parisian taxis that he had brought back with him.
The work was an instant success in the “ Jazz age” as described by the American
novelist Scott Fitzgerald. The use of the word jazz came about for the first time in
1913 to describe any artistic activity characterized by vigor, happiness and joie de
vivre. Later the term was confined to music.
Bavouzet was accompanied sometimes by Soyeon Kate Lee or Anne-Marie
McDermott or Wu Han and sometimes they paired together without him.
The contrast in the playing style was evident. The three ladies distinguished
themselves by high technical skills but occasionally banged the keyboard with
varying degrees of success. It makes one wonder about their motivation: is it to
catch up with the French pianist exciting style where he breaks out into a blazing
but controlled Mediterranean sun shine, or is it simply excessive bravura ?
The concert ended with an encore for 8 hands where all four artists joined
together and sat on a long extended seat. They dazzled the audience with their
superb coordination and strict discipline. They received a standing ovation and
well deserved enthusiasm for their remarkable achievement.
Bavouzet, born in 1962 and the last discovery of new talent by the illustrious
conductor Sir Georg Solti, mentioned that when he started his career he was
not terribly enthusiastic about Debussy. His professor at the masters classes in
Paris was trained by Henry Busser, the conductor and composer who lived 101
years, and had performed many of Debussy’s music for the first time, provided
him with a lot of important information about the Debussy’s thoughts, his way of
composition and the emotional content of his work. Bavouzet adds, “ Once when
I was in my hotel room in Tokyo preparing myself for a concert while listening to
Pelleas and Melisande opera by Debussy recorded by Karajan; I suddenly felt a
strong urge to cry without interruption. The emotional charge of the music shook
me profoundly. Since that moment I became a forceful admirer of Debussy.”
Bavouzet came from France to the US last month after performing the music
of Haydn and Beethoven as well as demonstrating his talent in “ Nights in
the Gardens of Spain” by De Falla. Previously he worked with famous living
conductors like Pierre Boulez, Valery Gergiev, Neeme Jarvi, Ivan Fischer, and
Vladimir Jurowski.. The BBC Music Magazine interviewed him at length in
February 2014 at the British Embassy in Paris. At the moment he is touring several
cities in the U.S. and his ultimate concert at the end of last month was scheduled
in Pittsburg where he performed the piano concertos by Prokofiev. He smiles
when he recalls what Gershwin once said about a girl he liked (perhaps in Paris)
and was told that she had gotten married. Gershwin said with his usual sense of
humor “ if I was not too busy, I would have felt angry.”
