Music review: Alexadrew Tharud, Edinburgh

MUSIC

ALEXANDRE THARAUD

QUEEN’S HALL, EDINBURGH

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PIANIST Alexandre Tharaud clearly has a strong affinity with the French repertoire, particularly the more impressionistic composers. Written for harpsichord, François Couperin’s Pièces de clavecin transfer remarkably well to the piano, indeed the addition of a wider dynamic range and a sustaining pedal gave the pieces a modern edge. With their quirky personalised titles, such as Les ombres errantes (The Wandering Shades), they could sit alongside any of Debussy’s Preludes, Book 1. In these, Tharaud not only painted vivid musical pictures but engaged the senses so I could feel the chill in Des pas sur la neige (Footprints in the Snow), absorb the languidness of the sails in Voiles and hear the muffled bells from La cathédrale engloutie (The Submerged Cathedral).

Ravel’s note-packed Sonatine and Eric Satie’s distinctive Gnossiennes Nos 1,3 and 5, used frequently in films to convey poignancy or strong emotions, continued in a similar vein. It would have been interesting for Tharaud to stretch himself by throwing something more complex into the mix, such as Poulenc or Messiaen. The closest was Gerard Pesson’s delightfully witty, but far too short, excerpts from Butterfly’s Notebook – snapshot events from Puccini’s opera Madam Butterfly captured in a few brief mesmerising seconds.

SUSAN NICKALLS