In recital... THIBAUDET WOWS AUDIENCE AT
LA JOLLA CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY DEBUT
We came to the recital hall knowing only that it was going to be an evening
of Debussy and Chopin, prepared to just get lost in the music. And we did. From
the moment Jean-Yves' fingers caressingly coaxed the first notes out of the
piano, making it sing
-- of fog veiling vision,
-- of leaves falling sadly in the autumn,
-- of fairies waltzing in the air,
-- of moonlight in one's face,
-- of fireworks exploding in the night....
Images woven from sound as only Thibaudet can -- with flair, passion and precision,
just the way Debussy meant it to be. And when sound becomes image in this manner,
Debussy's unfamiliar Book of Preludes, which made up half of the programme,
becomes a friendly book of musical treasures.
And the unfamiliar having become quite accessible becomes fitting prologue to
the familiar, Debussy's occasional pointillism a suitable match to Chopin's
sweet romanticism. Jean-Yves plays from the heart in a style that lends freshness
to the familiar nocturnes and valses and etudes of our childhood. In such magical
hands, Chopin's all too familiar music breeds not contempt but only greater
endearment. The pieces he played were from his just-released album The
Chopin I Love.
Altogether a well-balanced program, made exciting by an artist who bedazzled
with his virtuosity and his own colorfully authentic persona, as the audience
clearly was. Responding to their wildly exuberant applause, he delighted with
two jazz encores - Bill Evans' sentimental
For Debby and Duke Ellington's
spirited Jubilee Stomp. Yet another touch of Thibaudet eclecticism. Classic
Thibaudet, even without the red socks.* <-- FanFaire 2000
* In Y2K and thereafter, the trademark red socks are no more. And the coattails
too will soon make a disappearing act... as Jean-Yves ponders a new Thibaudet
look.
A MESSAGE FROM JY (1999)
UK
