The Legacy of the Great French Pianist Germaine Pinault:
Mayu Hemmi, Daniela Bracchi,
Ana Maria Trenchi Bottazzi. Goethe Institute, New York, October 21, 2006.
On Saturday, October 21, this reviewer had the pleasure to attend a piano recital devoted to the legacy of renowned French pianist and master teacher Germaine Pinault at the Goethe Institute in New York. Previous to the performance itself, Ana Maria Trenchi Bottazzi, disciple of Mme. Pinault and Director of the school honoring her name, shared with the audience the motivations for the homage. Dr. Bottazzi started by reminiscing about the pedagogic practices prevalent in post-war Paris, explaining what these demanding conditions had meant to a young girl arriving from far away lands and how the extreme generosity of Mme. Pinault was what ultimately made it possible for her to continue her studies. Inscribing Mme.
Pinault’s teachings within the age-long tradition of transmitting one’s knowledge, wisdom, and experience to the young, Dr. Bottazzi’s emotive account elaborated on the kinds of sacrifices required to perfect one’s craft, and how artistic excellence must sometimes be pursued at any cost. Generosity and acknowledgement were recurring themes: Because of fateful circumstances, Dr. Bottazzi was not able to thank Mme. Pinault for her teachings, drawing a parallel to the fact that it is often the case that the teacher does not see the final result of his or her work. By recalling a series of moving, real-life anecdotes full of truth and wisdom about her development as a young artist, Dr. Trenchi rounded her introduction by establishing the crucial link between parenting and teaching, on the one hand, and between pedagogy and artistic excellence, on the other.
In addition to Dr. Bottazzi herself, the recital featured two of her young disciples, Mayu Hemmi, aged twelve, and Daniela Bracchi, a young professional completing her doctorate at the Manhattan School of Music. Mayu Hemmi performed Widmung, by Schumann (in an arrangement by Liszt), Debussy’s Reflets dans l’eau, Chopin’s Etudes Op. 25 No. 2 and Op. 10, No. 5, and completed her presentation with Venezia e Napoli, also by Liszt. Ms. Hemmi played with great aplomb, featuring a deep tone and an interesting dynamic range full of nuances. Particularly impressive was her flexible but very natural-sounding rubato, a technical skill somewhat unusual in a twelve-year old pianist.
Ms. Bracchi played Bach’s Toccatta in G Major, BWV 916, Bartok’s Etude Op. 18, and Chopin’s Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise Brillante. She exhibited great authority at the keyboard, with a clear conceptual vision about the contrapuntal layers in Bach, and a ghostly, hauntingly rapturous sound in Bartok. The highlight of her performance was a passionate interpretation of Liszt’s Petrarch Sonnet in Db Major, putting her exquisite technique at the service of a devout, idealized, full-of-longing heart.
The conclusion of the concert, by Dr. Bottazzi herself, consisted of Domenico Scarlatti’s Sonatas in D Major, L-14, and in F Minor, L-118, followed by Mozart’s Variations on “Ah vous dirai-je- maman,” K. 265, Schlummerlied, by Helmut Fuchs, and Chopin’s Scherzo in Db, Op. 31, No. 2. As an encore, she rendered a marvelous interpretation of Ginastera’s solo piano version of Canción del árbol del olvido, Op. 3. Dr. Bottazzi’s consummate performance was an impressive lesson in color, dynamics, tempo, and polyphony, but, above all, drama. Whether in the world of the early keyboard sonatas of Scarlatti or the sophisticated pianistic language of Chopin or the complex modernist harmonies of Ginastera, she projected an intense expression which engulfed the audience like an ocean of emotion. Dr. Bottazzi’s demonstration was the perfect conclusion for a evening featuring three different generations of pianists passing the torch to one another, ultimately illustrating the deep spirituality shared by all committed artists.
Copyright © 2006 by Martin Kutnowski