Pierre-Arnaud Dablemont, pianist » recordings

Recording is never so easy.

Pierre-Arnaud — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:00:21 +0000

To all those saying that recording is easy, I say, perhaps they should pay a visit to a studio. Of course, you can cut, past, redo, but it is not always an advantage.

The first shock when recording is a bit like the one you feel when hearing your own voice for the first time. Years later, I still find it hard to bear. Indeed, even if you have spent whole years working on planned works, you have never heard them from the microphones perspective. In short, you do not really know how it sounds like for the audience. You have an idea of it, you work so that it sounds as you want in the concert hall, but the microphone is the moment of truth! No one can be more objective than it is.

The editing process is a fantastic thing, but it destroys the music cohesion. Technically, you can edit almost anything, but musically, it does not always fit: different tempi, different dynamics, different intentions, outside noise, atmosphere… The editing can help correct some little mistakes, but overall, I avoid it. I would rather corroborate Samson François’ words: “let the bad notes, it’s nice.” Not always easy to find a balance between technical and musical perfection with an imperfect intermediary.

Recording is a lot of work: if certain imperfections are tolerated in a concert, the disc or recording can be heard several times: you can therefore be sure that there was at one time or another a mistake. It is thus necessary to make a perfect work, thus not human. A little example: Pollini’s recordings. I have long sought the origin of their coldness: it’s a consequence of their absolute perfection. You can not criticize Pollini’s recordings, there is nothing to say, it’s perfect, thus not very human. The audience has become accustomed to this superhuman perfection, and this superhuman perfection has become a standard, in studios or on stage. Too bad, I liked these pianists, who were more humans than playing machines, with their weaknesses, their points of view and their own style…

I digress. On monday, I sat at the piano with 4 microphones and my producer as only audience. Correcting, listening, repeating, improving, discussing, trying to relax a bit, we lived for one ultimate goal: producing a quality recording without stress since there is no planned release. I also had other aims: little or no editing and no sound correction. We will see what happens after post-production! I will share with you some of the tracks when available.

Till then, time to work!

5 records I can’t live without

Pierre-Arnaud — Wed, 20 May 2009 06:00:14 +0000

After a comment from Piano Agitato in the French version of The record: a help or a hindrance to artistic creation?, I have been thinking about the records that have really affected me. Today, I have decided to make a selection of five of these. The choice was hard to make, but I have finally selected them from those I have listened to the most.

All these are equally important for me, which means I do not want to classify them. I have a special relationship to them because they made me discover or love something.

As I write these few lines, I’m listening to one of them: it is Joshua Bell, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic interpreting the violin concertos of Sibelius and Goldmark. My first encounter with the concerto of Sibelius…

But “pianistically” speaking, there are two fundamental records I listened to a lot (and still do): one of them gave me the love of Maurice Ravel, it is Samson François, André Cluytens and l’Orchestre de la Société des Conservatoires interpreting both Ravel’s concertos, and in addition Gaspard de la Nuit by Samson. The other record, it’s still Samson François, but this time with Louis Frémiaux and l’Orchestre de l’Opéra de Monte-Carlo in both Chopin’s concertos. If I sometimes find other wonderful versions, I always end up returning to them: I love this free playing with no inhibitions!

There is in my selection, an album that introduced me to the string quartet and chamber music: Schumann’s string quartets by Via Nova Quartet. Just the wonderful hornpipes in the final movement of the a minor quartet are enough to justify my choice.

My last selection is still about piano, but Ivo Pogorelich’s one this time and this famous record: Chopin’s sonata in b flat minor, Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit and Prokofiev’s Sixth sonata. Thanks to him, I have realized that there could always be something new to find in a work.

And you, do you know these records? Did they touch you?

George Gershwin – Concerto in F

Pierre-Arnaud — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 06:00:48 +0000

Not much performed in Europe, this work would deserve much wider attention. George Gershwin’s Concerto in F is a work from the classical repertoire I still find neglected. Composed in 1925, this concerto will later influence Maurice Ravel to write his Concerto in G. Ravel advised Gershwin not to underestimate the importance of jazz, and it is exactly what he did in this totally jazzy concerto.

It is for this reason that I chose the version with Marcus Roberts at the piano, accompanied by his Trio, under the baton of the brilliant Seiji Osawa, interpreting in great shape the third movement of this concerto a la Marcus Roberts, perfectly capturing the spirit of Gershwin.

How I discovered Albéniz

Pierre-Arnaud — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:08:00 +0000

… And along with him, a good part of Spanish classical music. This brings me back to a time long ago, some 17 years. At this time, I used to listen to radio a lot and at the same time, I was discovering Ravel’s works for piano. Until one day I chanced upon a public radio broadcast of a concert, which took place some months before at the La Roque d’Anthéron Festival. There, Spanish pianist Rafael Orozco was performing Albéniz’s complete Iberia.

Thanks to him, I fell in love with this music, so lilting, so colorful, by its wild and subtle rhythms. A pianist of great class was needed for such a work. Orozco wonderfully filled this role. From then on, I listened to many other versions by other pianists, but I have never experienced the same sensation again.

I would have loved to see him play, but Rafael Orozco left us too soon, in April 1996 at only 50 years old. Today, the little tape cassette on which I had recorded this concert is not readable anymore. Only the imperishable memory of a wonderful concert remains. However I would love to listen to this concert again and I’m hoping there might be somewhere (perhaps at France Musique, which broadcasted it) where to find this concert tape. Or maybe did someone record it?

The concert took place on Tuesday, August 4th, 1992 at 9:30 p.m, Parc du Château de Florans, during the La Roque d’Anthéron Festival: if someone knows where I could get this unpublished recording, please leave me a message.

Is the debate over piracy a “false” debate?

Pierre-Arnaud — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 21:12:47 +0000

Artistic licenses and protection of creations are a current concern. Illegal downloading, free music distributed by artists themselves; the world of music recording and distribution is changing. Today, many governments are adopting new laws to protect artists’ rights. But, does the artist really need it? I mean, is this protection really intended for artists or is there anyone else interested?

Because here is the point: who has an interest in protecting artists? Let’s imagine you are a professional musician and your project of album comes true: you get signed to a record label. What are you going to get next? An advance payment against royalties from the label. And, as you will not sell millions of discs, it will certainly take a long time before you get something more, or even maybe this will never happen again…

For a classical artist, recording is not a major source of income, but is rather a marketing tool, which helps us to sell concerts. A kind of visit card, which promotes our work to the public, concerts organizers and the press. Its purpose is therefore to be propagated as much as possible, no matter if its distribution is free, as long as it is not a substantial source of income.

Finally, the record label is the main interested party in this business. The company wants to cover its production expenses, which is laudable, but will survive only if it sells enough discs. The fight against piracy benefits mainly the record company but not its artist.

Whether this fight against piracy fails or free downloading wins the battle, record companies in their present form will cease to exist. (as well as all the organisations for protection of artists’ “rights”). The artist, as for him, will always be there and will be able to adapt to the new market rules.

Who does benefit from law?

Beaux Arts Trio retires

Pierre-Arnaud — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:00:44 +0000

The Beaux Arts Trio, after a dazzling 53-year career, has retired this month. Menahem Pressler, 84 years old and last trio’s founding member didn’t wish to continue the adventure and form a new violonist. Indeed, Daniel Hope announced, because of his growing solo career, that he couldn’t ensure anymore the yearly 75-80 trio’s concerts.

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!

Glenn Gould

Pierre-Arnaud — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:23:52 +0000

Among fascinating pianists, Glenn Gould holds for me a special place. By his play and his personality, the Canadian pianist captivated me.

I first heard him in his goldberg variations in the 1981 version. I say “his” because Gould has been able to make them his while respecting the text of Bach. Then, I progressively fell in love with his vision of things and music. Multi-faceted character , he made documentaries for radio, television, moderated programs, and of course recorded for CBS a huge repertoire.

Lone, Gould prefered the atmosphere of the studio to the stages which he totaly left after 1964. Perfectionist, the concert could not fit him, with its imperfect nature and its obligations to compromise. In the studio he could think, redo, choose options and deliver a perfect product without compromise.

Also composer, his works are not so famous. These include the fugue for choir and four mixed voices entitled So You Want to Write a Fugue? and his String Quartet Opus 1, inspiration close to the music of Arnold Schoenberg. He also wrote several transcriptions for solo piano from works by Wagner and Ravel.

He suffered a stroke on 27 September 1982. He was admitted to hospital and his condition rapidly deteriorated. He was taken off life support on October 4. He is buried in Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Let’s listen to music with this video of the master interpreting the aria of the Golberg Variations in 1981.