A month of Messiaen
For the past month I have played virtually nothing in concert except Messiaen - the Quartet for the End of Time in various places, Turangalila Symphony in Munich, and the Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus in London. Strange to say, given how physically demanding this music is, but for me it has been like a kind of holiday, because I find I need to give the music virutally no thought before playing it. Of course, it wasn't always like this, and certainly over the years I have thought a lot about these pieces, but compared to most other music there are very few interpretative decisions to make about Messiaen's music - once you decide on the speed and the basic mood much of it simply works itself out.
I do feel a particularly strong connection to this music. Sometimes I'm asked after playing the Vingt Regards whether I am religious. I used to be deeply religious (and even imagined I could have become a minister) but am no longer. The connection I feel is more to do with the great range of the music, from the deepest calm to the most enormous energy, even violence; I feel these extremes in myself.
So it has been a month of many satisfying concerts, with some wonderful colleagues: playing the quartet with Kari Kriikku, Viviane Hagner and one of my closest friends, Alban Gerhardt, and working with the marvellous Jun Maerkl and the Munich Philharmonic. But most satisfying of all was a performance at the Wigmore Hall on Saturday of the Vingt Regards, a mammoth work for solo piano which lasts over 2 hours without a break. Giving a concert is a bit like playing a slot machine - there are many elements which are out of your control, like the spinning reels, and you have to hope at least most of them land in your favour. On Saturday it felt like I hit the jackpot. The hall is of course marvellous, the piano had great range, colour and beauty, I felt absolutely relaxed, and the audience was unbelievably attentive and concentrated. I felt many things after this concert: principally, I felt like king of the world, I felt humbled by what the audience contributed by their attention, and I felt sad it had to end. It is a strange transition moving from such a rapt state of mind back to everyday life and it helps to have some company in the hours following a concert. So I went to a Turkish restaurant with my manager, Emma, a good friend from Hyperion records, Mike Spring, and a great Australian conductor (are there ANY unpleasant Australians, by the way?) Matt Coorey. We ordered 3 Healthy Meals to share. There was no option for an Unhealthy Meal.
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Comments
Vingt Regards is a very special 'piece' for me, curse me for not keeping up with Wigmore's events diary properly! How I would love to have been there. I'm sure you know the cycle like the back of your hand, but I can't begin to imagine how emotionally and physically demanding it must be to play it all in one concert, bravo. I first heard you play about six years ago whilst studying music in Manchester and am just listening to your Kapustin recordings, hence googling and finding this fantastic site. I shall keep up with your blog.
Posted by Mat Smith on 20 December 2008
However good it was at Wigmore Hall I can't believe that it was any better than the performance of the Vingt Regards which you went on to do in the small hall at the Sage, Gateshead on Wednesday 17th December. As a Messiaen enthusiast, I have had a fantastic year and I thought that it might have peaked with St Francois in Amsterdam or the centenary concert at Royal Festival Hall with Boulez conducting. However, your performance was easily on a parr with those great events and touched me more personally than any of them. I also took threee seventeen year-olds to the recital and was worried that a 2 hour + piano cycle might not work for them. Quite the contrary, you held their attention for every note and they loved it. Your recording of the Vingt Regards is one of my most frequently played CD's, but I was able to get even more insights into this wonderful piece from hearing and seeing your live performance. For me, you particularly brought out the humour of some of the birdsong. Although I am not religious in the way that Messiaen was, the was quite the most spendid and spiritual preparation for Christmas which I could imagine. Many thanks. I hope to hear you again soon.
Posted by Frank Hinson on 23 December 2008