The Swiss piano maestro François-Xavier Poizat will perform and discuss the works of Maurice Ravel next week as part of Music for Galway’s celebration of France’s greatest modern composer.
From next Friday, January 17, Music for Galway (MfG ) will celebrate 150 years since the birth of Ravel to a Basque mother and Swiss father, with three days of events and performances during its Midwinter Festival at the Town Hall Theatre.
Ravel was regarded as France’s greatest living composer by the 1930s, and he is lauded as one of the most original and sophisticated musical craftsmen of the twentieth century, combining baroque and classical forms with modernism and jazz.
Poizat has just finished recording a six-CD compilation of Ravel’s works. Speaking to Anna Lardi of MfG, the world-renowned pianist said next week’s performances will be his second professional visit to Ireland.
“I already had the opportunity to perform at the New Ross Piano Festival in September 2022, and I keep the fondest memories of this event. These concerts in Galway will be the musical climax of my month of January, and I never had the opportunity to play so much Ravel, my favorite composer, in a few days!”
The annual MfG Midwinter Festival will present a survey of Ravel’s solo piano, chamber and vocal music, as well as a new choreography of his world-famous Boléro, in partnership with Galway Dance.
Poizat will perform the bulk of the programme, together with violinist Gwendolyn Masin and cellist Benedict Kloeckner. Irish mezzo-soprano Gemma Ní Bhriain will also perform a selection of Ravel’s songs.
“Of course the solo pieces are, like almost always, the most intense and challenging. But the Trio is quite an Everest as well,” says Poizat. “It is much more difficult than both piano concertos combined... But each of Ravel's pieces are so unique that it makes the comparison impossible. They are all wonderful to play.” The Trio includes a unique piece of music - commissioned by a pianist who had lost his right arm in WWI, and is played with the left hand only. This feat will be performed on the Saturday night concert, January 18.
"I had a personal (and historical ) connection to the pieces connected to World War 1 like the Left Hand Concerto or Le Tombeau de Couperin, but I also love the atmosphere of Gaspard de la Nuit and the 'spiritual' melodies always find a direct way to my soul," says Poizat.
Lardi describes some of Ravel’s works as “cruelly difficult” demanding the highest level of artistry from the musician.
“Yes [but] I like all kind of challenges, and the technicality of Ravel's music is without comparison,” responds Poizat. “But its technicality is never vain; it always serves the musical purpose. Such is the ‘Ravelian pact’ as I see it: a complete dedication to the preciseness of Ravel's score, combined with the highest technicality, and the wonders of Ravel's music will naturally shine.”
Ravel was a painstakingly slow worker and therefore not as prolific as many of his contemporaries. However what he did compose are intensely masterful compositions which conjure up exotic landscapes, haunting sound-worlds and complex harmonies.
Performances in the Town Hall Theatre on Friday, January 17, will explore Ravel’s literary inspirations, followed by folklore on Saturday, January 18, and exotic influences on Sunday, January 19. Poizat will give a talk and general presentation of Ravel's character and music at 7pm before the Saturday eve performance, where he may tale questions and answers.
Born in 1989 with Swiss, French, and Chinese origins, pianist François-Xavier Poizat graduated from the Geneva and Hamburg Conservatory, from the Juilliard School in New York and from the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome, taught by Alexeï Golovin, Evgeni Koroliov and Benedetto Lupo. He has won several prizes, including the 2007 Young Soloist award from Radios Francophones Publiques, the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and the 2013 Clara Haskil Competition in Vevey.
Artistic Director of Music for Galway, pianist Finghin Collins commented: “Once again Music for Galway presents a deep immersion into the world of a significant composer from the recent past. This is a unique opportunity to delve into the life and work of one of the most exquisite and individual artists of the last century.
Tickets from €12.50 to €25.00 available on www.musicforgalway.ie or phone 091 569777.
