When Jean-Yves Thibaudet visited NPR to play a Tiny Desk, all the pieces about him was trendy. His footwear have been customized made for him by the late Vivienne Westwood, his jacket was by Simon Porte Jacquemus, his necklace, Cartier.
When he sat right down to play, arguably just one factor gave the impression to be lacking: a shiny, 9-foot grand piano. However Thibaudet, like many nice pianists who’ve graced our workplace house, understands the vibe of our beloved little live performance sequence. He is aware of that the purpose is not to be taking part in on the most important piano doable. As a substitute, he delighted in bringing music by Villa-Lobos, Brahms and Ravel to our diminutive — however meticulously groomed — upright. And the colours and textures he conjured from that trusty field of wooden and wire was unforgettable.
Thibaudet begins with a firecracker of a chunk from the early twentieth century — two-minutes of effervescence by the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. Watch the pianist’s fingers in a blur, stabbing tons of of notes like a stitching machine. It was an encore favourite of the good pianist Arthur Rubinstein, Thibaudet explains.
What follows couldn’t be extra totally different. The Intermezzo Op. 118, No. 2, is traditional late Brahms, stuffed with muted, fall afternoon gentle and whispered inside voices. Thibaudet ends with a tribute to one in every of his idols, Maurice Ravel, whose a hundred and fiftieth delivery anniversary is being celebrated far and extensive. Seems that one of many composer’s largest hits, the Pavane for a Lifeless Princess, was not amongst his personal favorites. And the evocative title was merely tacked on as a poetic afterthought. Nonetheless, the extensive palette of coloring and shading Thibaudet presents is a masterclass in the right way to make an upright piano sound like a symphony orchestra.
SET LIST
- Heitor Villa-Lobos: “O polichinelo” (from A prole do bebê No. 1)
- Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo in A significant, Op. 118, No. 2
- Maurice Ravel: Pavane pour une infante défunte
MUSICIANS
- Jean-Yves Thibaudet: piano
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Tom Huizenga
- Director/Editor: Kara Body
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Host/Collection Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Kara Body, Joshua Bryant
- Audio Engineer: Andie Heuther
- Manufacturing Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dora Levite
- Photographer: Alanté Serene
- Tiny Desk Workforce: Maia Stern, Lars Gotrich
- Government Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Collection Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins