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Claude Debussy - Etudes No.1-3

Discussion in 'Submission Room' started by Francois de Larrard, Dec 6, 2016.

  1. Francois de Larrard

    Francois de Larrard Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Dear All,
    I haven't been at PS for a while, and apparently we have a low attendance these days... Nevertheless, I hope someone can listen this music. It deals with the continuation of my integral.
    Etude No.1,"Pour les cinq doigts" (For the five fingers) is a parody of another study by Czerny. Starting as a scholar exercise but being quickly puzzled by an unexpected dissonance from the right hand...
    Etude No.2, "Pour les tierces" (For the thirds) is especially tricky, and I am far to be happy with my rendition, but I couldn't do anything cleaner. I hope however it can give an idea of how it should sound...
    Etude No.3, "Pour les quartes" (For the fourths) is my prefered one. It shows how Debussy can be a real sound magician. Any modern jazz pianist should study and play this piece, since the use of fourth is very popular in jazz harmony.
    Thanks for listening and commenting !
     

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    Last edited: Dec 18, 2016
    Francois de Larrard, Dec 6, 2016
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  2. Vladimir Oppenheim

    Vladimir Oppenheim Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Hi Francois,

    It's a very interesting performance of Debussy's etudes! Needless to say that these are difficult pieces to play. Debussy's music has kind of "elusive" nature. So much can be expressed and at the same time we are confined in music itslef: notes... I liked the very strong sense of rythm, the pulse, the dynamics, the precision. Personally, I liked more No 3, and one of the reasons is that I felt that musics' flow was more alive and less metrically devided into fixed rythmic patterns. It seems to me that despite the fact that there is a resemblance with jazz harmonies perhaps, we should not fall into the trap of playing it like jazz music. And another suggestion maybe: variety in tone, its nuances and colors can be explored little more.
    Congratulations on a wonderful performance!

    Vladimir
     
    Vladimir Oppenheim, Dec 12, 2016
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  3. Francois de Larrard

    Francois de Larrard Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Hello Vladimir,
    A quiet sunday to catch up with PS... Thanks for your appreciation ! You're right: this music requires precision, but should be also colourful and sometimes foggy and elusive... And the tempo is very elastic, not like jazz in which, most of the time, there is a very stable metric. My reference to jazz is more related with the fact that in modern jazz (since the '60), combination of fourths is one of the key techniques to build chords (see e.g. pianists as McCoy Tyner or Chick Corea who popularised this type of harmony in jazz piano). Thank you again for your comments,
     
    Francois de Larrard, Dec 18, 2016
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  4. Vladimir Oppenheim

    Vladimir Oppenheim Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Agree with you 100%,

    All the best,
    Vladimir
     
    Vladimir Oppenheim, Dec 19, 2016
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  5. andrew

    andrew Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist

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    You seem very at home in this music. Convincing playing - I didn't hear anything too obviously amiss even in the thirds study - and a nice and atmospheric piano sound as well. Like Vladimir, I think I found no.3 the most successful.
     
    andrew, Dec 21, 2016
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  6. Francois de Larrard

    Francois de Larrard Administrator Staff Member Piano Society Artist Trusted Member

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    Hello Andrew,
    Thanks for your kind feedback. Yes I used to plays these studies 20 years ago or so, and I am trying now to unearth and refresh them. And I find the "Pour les quartes" one of the most fascinating ones... BTW I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with plenty of good music !
     
    Francois de Larrard, Dec 25, 2016
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