Jean-Nicolas Diatkine - Sonata 21 53 Carnaval 9 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

From long form to short form that seems to be the voyage Jean-Nicolas Diatkine leads us in his new CD, from Sonata no. 3 to the 24 Preludes. Yet this impression is partially deceptive. Granted, these preludes are miniatures, however they also form a whole twice as long as the sonata, when considered in their totality. Hence the work overcomes confrontation between fragment and whole, between unity and diversity. Yet a first paradox of this magisterial work is that this consistency is nonetheless varied and complementary in style - so much so that certain imaginative performers have foisted evocative titles on each prelude. The second paradox is in it's title. Even though the genre is clearly defined, a 'prelude' must always pose the question of what it is a prelude to. And yet notwithstanding restricted dimensions, it allows us to wonder about the infinite because, even ended, narrowly circumscribed, and signed off, it remains inconclusive, suspended like an introduction to which no development follows. Without doubt, the denomination 'prelude' is interesting partly because we have no ready answer to the question of what a prelude really is a prelude to, which obliges us to rephrase the question. From this perspective, Jean-Nicolas Diatkine's version of the preludes is neither a performance (although literally speaking it is one), nor a demonstration, but possesses rather a qual ity that may seem unreasonable spontaneity. This interpreter's spontaneity is not an intrusion of his own self into the composer's ideas, nor substituting a hermeneutic inspiration to that which gave rise to the work. No, his spontaneity is the clear-sighted audacity to believe in interpretation where a musician can be so immersed in a piece (or in 24 for that matter), as to take the liberty of showing the listener what the work has revealed to him, what it has opened him up to. Album Track

Some of Jean-Nicolas Diatkine's singer friends have ended their careers, but their magic is irreplaceable in his eyes, or rather in his ears. He misses them, just as he misses the Schubert, Schumann and Brahms songs they sang. Well, there is only one person who can compensate for this loss, and his name is Franz Liszt. The main aim of transcriptions was to make orchestral works known to a wider audience, at a time when there were far fewer orchestras, and public access to symphony concerts was very limited. But Liszt gives transcriptions a new meaning he puts the orchestra into the piano, since his style is particularly suited to outsized extravagance. Thus he opens up unprecedented pianistic possibilities, where virtuosity is no longer mere exhibitionism but rather transformed into the art of illusion. His arrangements of Wagner are so convincing that they become his own personal creations. Laurent Bessières, piano tuner at the Paris Philharmonic, suggested for this recording a Schiedmayer piano of 1916 made in Stuttgart, which he had completely rebuilt in collaboration with Antoine Letessier-Salmon, director of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, and Stephen Paulello, piano maker and inventor of the strings that bear his name. This instrument has almost never been used in concert, however excellent work by Laurent Bessières convinced us to try it out in this very special repertoire.

Jean-Nicolas Diatkine comes from a family of recognized doctors and considers commitment to others to be the basis of his profession. It seemed impossible for him to do without this basic attitude in the exercise of his profession, which is why he always sees his artistic development as a return to the essential artistic values to which he has devoted himself over the last thirty years. At the same time, he makes the in-depth study and deeper understanding of the narrative of each composer an absolute priority and an indispensable step before any public performance of a work. Diatkine about Beethoven Musician-performers might regard the need to introduce and explain the pieces they are about to play as an implicit admission of failure, acknowledging the fact that music might no longer speak for itself. Goethe's irritated reaction to Schubert's settings of his poems was of the same order, although in reverse perspective according to him, music was already included in his poetry. And Beethoven (like Bach) created such a vast, structured world that it defies any attempt at literary explanation for it does not need any. The following presentation illustrates this paradox. Album Tracks 1. Sonata No. 7 Op. 10, No. 3~Presto 2. Sonata No. 7 Op. 10, No. 3~Largo e mesto 3. Sonata No. 7 Op. 10, No. 3~Menuetto (Allegro) 4. Sonata No. 7 Op. 10, No. 3~Rondo (Allegro) 5. Sonata No. 23 Op. 57~Allegro Assai 6. Sonata No. 23 Op. 57~Andante con moto 7. Sonata No. 23 Op. 57~Allegro ma non troppo 8. Sonata No. 28 Op. 101~Etwas lebhaft und mit der innigsten Empfindung. Allegretto, ma non troppo 9. Sonata No. 28 Op. 101~Lebhaft. Marschmäßig. Vivace alla Marcia 10. Sonata No. 28 Op. 101~Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll. Adagio, ma non troppo, con affetto 11. Sonata No. 28 Op. 101~Geschwind, doch nicht zu sehr, und mit Entschlossenheit. Allegro