Culture pianistique

MADEMOISELLE BOULANGER: A REVOLUTION

2021-04-20T14:13:15+01:00

Having discussed Alfred Cortot, we now turn to another key figure in the French tradition: Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979). A pupil of Cortot as well as a pianist and teacher, Nadia Boulanger taught many musicians (thousands!) who remember her as both extremely strict and incredibly liberal and open-minded. Born into a musical family – Nadia Boulanger's father, Ernest Boulanger, was himself a composer – she was initially also interested in composition, but abandoned it after the premature death of her sister Lili in 1918. She was a pupil [...]

MADEMOISELLE BOULANGER: A REVOLUTION2021-04-20T14:13:15+01:00

Alfred Cortot and the French piano tradition

2021-03-10T19:12:42+00:00

The piano has not always been played and studied in the same way; indeed, various more or less institutionalised schools have succeeded one another over time. While it is true that every country has its own cultural and artistic tradition, the French piano tradition is captivating because it reveals almost opposing tendencies that continue to influence musical tastes today. To discuss the French school, it seems necessary to mention the most important artistic figure on the twentieth-century French scene – Alfred Cortot. First of all, it is worth briefly presenting the formal elements of [...]

Alfred Cortot and the French piano tradition2021-03-10T19:12:42+00:00
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