Brussels Philharmonic, Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Strauss – Bernstein
13 February 1945: the devastating bombardment of Dresden. Richard Strauss is so affected that he writes one of the most gripping work in his entire oeuvre: Metamorphosen. A purified work, written for 23 strings, is a tragic work that touches us deeply. W.H. Auden’s poem of the same name inspired Bernstein’s The Age of Anxiety. His personal identification with the poem is almost physically perceptible in the gripping music.
Flagey, Brussels Philharmonic
Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Jean-Yves Thibaudet has natural charisma and knows better than anyone how to elicit unexpected colours from music – including among the great classics that everyone thinks they know. The Age of Anxiety is not on the average repertoire, but Thibaudet has now played it innumerable times. “And that is necessary, as it is a very complex work. Every time I begin to play it I discover more, I understand more.”
Thibaudet was bitten by the piano bug early on thanks to a concert by Arthur Rubinstein. Now he wishes in turn to appeal to young people: “it is a great challenge to reach a young audience, but a fine one.”
