Claude Helffer has not only created many works of the contemporary repertoire, he has also deployed throughout his career an intense educational activity. Many of those who have followed his courses remember the rare balance between skill and enthusiasm, precision and passion. This book would like to fix such moments. The instrumentalist's approach is not that of the musicologist: it aims at practical realization - analysis is not an end in itself, but the means of assimilating the work to make it a lived experience. Thus, the highlighting of a compositional structure is accompanied here by pragmatic advice, and more general considerations.
Claude Helffer goes through the history of keyboard music, from Johann Sebastian Bach to Philippe Manoury, in simple and lively language, and at the end gives some tips for approaching a new work, his speech of the method "in a way.
A pianist who has marked his time, particularly through his commitment to musical creation, Claude Helffer has given recitals and taught interpretation courses throughout the world, recording many records. He is the author of a "What do I know? On piano music. Contrechamps has published a book of interviews with him, in which he tells of his rich career as a pianist and his truth of man.
 |