Leafing through my history of the twentieth century, I could find at least three significant anniversaries. Perhaps a centennial is any less impressive than a bicentennial, but in 1910 were born Samuel Barber and Pierre Schaeffer, for example, and also died Mily Balakirev. Wouldn’t these people be enough significant in the history of music to celebrate the 100th anniversary of their birth or death? Or is it easier and more mainstream to decree that we should celebrate a composer already known to all and played a lot?

For 2010, I invite you to (re?) discover the work of these three illustrious personages. I already spoke about Pierre Schaeffer in details in an article about the musique concrète, but let me remind you what he basically did. Pierre Schaeffer has deeply changed the perception of sound and influenced all the music of the second half of the twentieth century. Father of music concrete, he used for the first time electronics as an interpreter. His theory of musical objects is a real jewel and his work has fundamentally influenced a whole generation of revolutionary composers: Stockhausen, Nono, Berio among others (let’s thank here Donaueschingen) or more directly Henry or Mâche. Other composers used his approach to move toward areas still unknown: Messiaen and his work Timbres – Durées (First work to implement spatial slicing performed on three tape trays), Varèse and Déserts, the first work combining acoustic instruments (in this case an orchestra) and tape, and even Boulez with his symphonie mécanique in 1955.

Samuel Barber has been considered by many as one of the most important American composers of the twentieth century. You certainly know his famous Adagio for Strings, but if it has somewhat overshadowed the rest of the work, we should go dig a little deeper. As a pianist, I focused on scores for my instrument and I learnt that Barber studied piano at the Curtis Institute, and payed homage to this instrument many times during his career. You should listen to his sonata or Piano Concerto, true masterpieces too little played today. Try also his fabulous excursions.

Finally, the last name of my list, Mily Balakirev, who died in 1910, is a central figure of Russian musical life. Islamey will certainly remind something to pianists… Balakirev extended and developped the thought of Glinka : Glinka had transmitted to Balakirev his strong nationalism and convinced him of the need for Russia to have a school independent from those of Europe. In 1857, after Glinka’s death, he founded one of the most important group of composers during the Romantic period: the Five. Balakirev met 4 other like-minded composers to reach his aim: Cui, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky. Struggling against academic education of composers, his magnetism and personality inspired his comrades to improbable heights of musical creativity.

I let you gather and listen to tracks and wish you a marvelous time with three composers not as media-friendly as Chopin, but who also could mark the year 2010.

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Significant figure of contemporary musical life, Boulez fascinates me. Although criticized by many, he nevertheless remains a key figure of the last 60 years. Whether people like him or not, no one can deny that he greatly contributed to the advancement of musical thought.

And now let’s listen to an excerpt of Sur Incises performed by the Ensemble Intercontemporain conducted by Pierre Boulez himself.

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The famous Sonata I.X.1905 (of which remains only two movements), the two series of On an Overgrown Path, In the Mists and a sole piece entitled Memory represent the totality of what Janáček wrote for piano. It isn’t much you might say? Yes, but dense! I have learned during my studies in Prague how much this music was stylisticly difficult and stamped with the composer’s Moravian roots.

V mlhách (In the Mists), which I am going to play this Tuesday, January 27th is my favorite cycle by Janáček. I love to play this music, in which I always find something new. Four movements full of the composer’s characteristic strength: a pleasure to the fingers and to the ears!

Let’s listen now to the first movement of In the Mists.

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The Beaux Arts Trio started in 1955 during the Festival of Tanglewood, Massachussets, with Menahem Pressler at the piano, Daniel Guilet on the violin and Bernard Greenhouse on the cello. At the time, the trio couldn’t manage to sign for a major label and recorded for a minor one, in only 3 hours, for free, their first record “Mendelssohn Dvorak”. 8 months later, the trio learnt that this record was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque. The trio signed a few months later with Philips and was launched.

The NPR “podcasts” the Beaux Arts Trio’s farewell concert at Tanglewood, where all began. I also suggest you the following two links, thanks to which you can listen to the 2 Schubert’s trios opus 99 and 100, by the famous Trio. At the piano Menahem Pressler, on the violin Daniel Hope and on the cello Antonio Meneses.

First part of the concert

Second part

Goodbye Beaux Arts Trio and thank you for all this musical happiness!

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What do I listen to? Well, actually I don’t listen to music much. Working a lot, I also need to rest my ears and can’t of course listen to Classical music without considering it a bit from a professional perspective. Finally, listen to Classical music somehow means to me to work again.

I otherwise listen to a lot of Jazz, more particularly Keith Jarrett and Brad Mehldau (still pianists you may think, even if I also listen to a lot of Mehldau in trio). Pop music-wise, to tell the truth, I don’t really listen to it much, even if I have preferences from another generation. For example, I very much like Brel, Gainsbourg or Dutronc.

Which leads us back to the first question. I would answer: no, we don’t. We listen to other genres as well, and I noticed that Jazz was a frequent answer among pianists.

And you, what do you listen to? Only Classical music or something else?

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