Olga Stezhko, piano, City of Light - City of Hope, Live at Wigmore Hall Part 1

Live at Wigmore Hall, London, 19 October 2017, Part 1
Part 2: bit.ly/olgawigm2
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Olga's all-Debussy album 'Et la lune descend' is available on bit.ly/olgacd2 (physical CD) and iTunes bit.ly/olgatunes2
Comprising of five suites, the album marks the centenary of Debussy’s death and charts the development of his writing for piano solo from the very first Suite begamasque to the much lesser known last suite Six Epigraphes antiques.
Claude Debussy - Suite Bergamasque
00:39 Prelude
05:14 Menuet
09:33 Clair de lune
13:57 Passepied
Claude Debussy Children's Corner
18:20 Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum
20:29 Jimbo's Lullaby
23:57 Serenade for the Doll
26:21 The Snow is Dancing
28:46 The Little Shepherd
31:10 Golliwogg's Cakewalk
Claude Debussy From Images Book 2
33:56 Poissons d'or
City of Light - City of Hope
Around 45 years separate the pieces in tonight’s programme, all written in Paris between 1890 and 1934. This magical and terrifying period in European history gave rise to numerous avant-garde movements, and Paris was the undisputed cultural capital of it all. Decadence, joie de vivre and great opportunities went alongside anxiety, uncertainty and personal struggle in the City of Lights. I believe this duality was one of the principal forces that drove the creativity of all four composers.
Debussy enjoyed great success from the onset of his pioneering path (Suite bergamasque 1890)) but his private life was turbulent. The scandalous relationship with Emma Bardac, with whom he had his daughter Claude-Emma (the dedicatee of Children’s Corner (1908)) alienated a great number of friends and shook Debussy’s reputation. Despite - or perhaps thanks to - this personal drama, his music blossomed, reaching new heights of sensuousness and psychological sophistication (Images, Preludes, Estampes).
In the 1930s Prokofiev and his wife Lina shifted between Paris and Moscow before deciding to settle permanently, for better or worse, in the Soviet Union in 1936. Despite looking into the future with optimism, the composer was full of worries, which are reflected in Thoughts Op. 62 (1934). What strikes me most is the complete absence in this work of Prokofiev’s usual irony and playfulness. This piece is the embodiment of deep existential contemplation.
Poulenc in this regard is more ‘Prokofiev-esque’ than Serge himself in his amalgamation of semi-mystical and witty elements in Trois Pièces (1928). In the late 1920s Poulenc enjoyed professional success and financial independence but suffered from recurring depression. His personal life, involving both men and women, often lead to unhappy endings and after the death of one of his closest friends, Poulenc was increasingly finding solace in religion.
Ravel’s path to professional recognition was the least straightforward out of the four composers and his personal life remains a mystery. In his youth he made five failed attempts to win the Prix de Rome - France’s most prestigious prize for young composers. He wasn’t a particularly productive composer in comparison with others but his painstakingly crafted works such as Miroirs, are as mesmerizing now as at the time of their premiere. In my view, Oiseaux tristes is a psychological exploration of one’s inner landscape through a musical metaphor of a lonely bird, whilst the optimism of Alborada del gracioso is not so innocent. Is our jester a mere fool or is he secretly laughing at us? After all, the judges of the Prix de Rome suspected Ravel of making fun of them by submitting pieces so academic that they seemed like parodies.
Our urban life is a rollercoaster of emotional contrasts where laughter and tears, hope and despair are often inseparable from each other. But once in a while great beauty comes out of this bittersweet synergy, as tonight’s music demonstrates.
© 2017 Olga Stezhko
Ольга Стежко, фортепиано
Клод Дебюсси

[@fjk1907]

Ms. Stezhko's comments about her program are as thoughtful as her playing. Her performance of the Bergamasque Menuet (at 05:14), for example, shows us that indeed ". . .once in a while great beauty comes . . ."