The French pianist Philippe Bianconi is a regular guest at Bagatelle. After many years mainly spent in the USA, he has been more and more active in France, which is a chance for us! He is at home both in the French and Austrian/German repertoires and also enjoys playing some contemporary music. His Debussy and Ravel are as good as can be, his Schumann too, and one must remember that the great Hermann Prey chose the then 25 year old Bianconi to record the 3 Schubert lieder cycle with him.
Regarding today composers, I remember a fascinating moment at the “Les Solistes aux Serres d’Auteuil” festival – which are now a thing of the past due to the greediness of today’s world and the scandalous extension of the Roland-Garros stadium in these unique gardens – when he played Martin Matalon’s pieces.
Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin – September 2016
The season started early with Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin playing a series of concerts around Bruckner and Mozart in the Philharmonie de Paris.
On Sep. 2nd, they played Mozart 24th Piano Concerto (what a wonderful and pure Larghetto!) and Bruckner 4th Symphony, nicknamed “Romantic“. Remarkable interpretation, and an outstanding Andante!
On Sep. 8th they were back for Mozart 26th Piano Concerto (the high point being again the Larghetto) and Bruckner 6th Symphony. Another splendid slow movement, Adagio, and a brilliant Finale.
3 great masters in Salzburg – August 2016
Sir Neville Marriner, one of the most remarkable conductors of the last half century, was conducting Mozart’s superb 39th Symphony (with its wonderful Andante con moto) and his Violin Concerto No. 3 – the young and talented Alina Pogostkina being the soloist, who offered Bach’s Partita No. 3 Gavotte en rondeau as an encore – and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in a matinee concert.
A couple of days later, the not less remarkable Herbert Blomstedt, the great pianist András Schiff and the Gewandhaus Leipzig played an almost all Beethoven evening: what a fabulous 7th Symphony, what an Emperor Concerto (an Adagio for the ages!), what splendid Overtures (Leonore II) and encores: another Overture, Egmont, and a sublime Schubert Impromptu, No. 3 D. 899.
A huge thank you to these 3 great masters!
Exhibitions of 2 masters of modernism: Vincent van Gogh in Arles and Egon Schiele in Tulln
Excellent surprise! I had not planned to visit these 2 exhibitions, but took advantage of the cultural life of these 2 towns I travelled to: a splendid van Gogh in Arles, and a very small but interesting Schiele exhibition in Tulln an der Donau.
Exhibition L’Esprit Singulier – Collection of Auberive Abbey – at the Halle Saint Pierre
During the summer of 2016, the Halle Saint Pierre in Montmartre hosted the exhibition L’Esprit Singulier, with works from the collection of Auberive Abbey. If certain artists present in the collection were missing in Paris – like the great Egyptian born painter Ibrahim Shahda or the Spaniard Antonio Saura – visitors could see several major contemporary artists and some good surprises.
The Artis Quartet at the Silvacane Abbey
The Artis Quartet was programmed in the cloister of Silvacane Abbey as part of the “Festival International de Quatuors à Cordes du Lubéron”.
My 1st encounter with the Austrian Quartet goes back to the early 1990s, with a memorable concert at what was then known as the “Auditorium du Châtelet”, including a fabulous version of Beethoven’s 15th Quartet.
Cross-perspective exhibitions between Troyes Modern Art and Laren Singer Museums
The Troyes Museum of Modern Art in France and the Laren Singer Museum in Netherlands partnered to display their counterpart works in 2 cross-perspective exhibitions.
The French museum hosts works from the collection of patrons Pierre & Denise Lévy, which offer a rich panorama of French painting (and sculpture) from the 1850s to the 1950s.
Discovering George Desvallières
The Petit Palais has organized a retrospective of the painter, entitled George Desvallières – La peinture corps et âme.
George Desvallières had a privileged relationship with Gustave Moreau, one of the major figure in Symbolist painting, steeped in mysticism, but also a renowned professor, whose students include Matisse, Marquet, Georges Rouault, Louis Valtat, Henri Manguin and Charles Camoin…
The Stranglers, L’Olympia, Paris, The Ruby Tour
The Stranglers were back in town 2 years after their last visit, playing the same famous Parisian venue.
As in 2012, Jet Black was not on stage – age and bad health have been taking their toll on the drummer, now in his mid 70s! – replaced by a newcomer, Jim McCaulay. This was the only difference in the line-up compared to 2012, which featured Ian Barnard on drums, and naturally Dave Greenfield (keyboards), Baz Warne (guitar and vocals) and Jean-Jacques Burnel (bass and vocals).
Exhibition Shahda, at the Lazaret Ollandini in Ajaccio
The Lazaret Ollandini is a unique and major cultural center in Corsica: it hosts various activities, like concerts of all genres, lectures, art exhibitions and a permanent collection of sculptures by Marc Petit.
This summer temporary exhibition is dedicated to Ibrahim Shahda, and offers a rich panorama of his work in very pleasant surroundings.
When visiting the exhibition and the permanent collection, one can quickly make a connection between Marc Petit’s sculptures and Shahda’s portraits and self-portraits and tag them – if one likes to give tags – as expressionists. Not surprising if you think that the last important exhibition of Shahda in Paris took place in the Galerie Polad-Hardouin, which is one of the foremost expressionist gallery in the capital city.