Élisabeth Pion | Montgeroult, the forgotten link

Once a month, The Press presents some expected events for classical music lovers.

The proliferation of works by female composers on concert programs in recent years is sometimes the occasion for great discoveries. Discussion with Maskoutain pianist Élisabeth Pion, who will perform the Concerto^o 1 in E flat major by Hélène de Montgeroult with the Arion ensemble from October 6 to 8 at Bourgie Hall.

In July, we reported on a new complete discography of the sonatas of Hélène de Montgeroult, active at the turn of the 19th century.^e century. Part of the first team of teachers at the brand new Paris Conservatory after the French Revolution, the French composer and pianist distinguished herself in particular with her collection of studies for piano, which were imitated by many.

If the studies and sonatas have already been the subject of a few recordings, his two piano concertos are still rarely played. The first, according to Élisabeth Pion, was only performed by Edna Stern, one of the most active promoters of Montgeroult music.

“It’s a work that I fell in love with,” says the 27-year-old musician, a former student of the Montreal Conservatory who spent several years at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music in London.

THE Concerto^o 1as the not^o 2is a transcription made from extracts from violin concertos by Giovanni Battista Viotti, a violin virtuoso and pedagogue who had worked for Queen Marie-Antoinette at the end of the Ancien Régime and devoted himself to improvisation with Montgeroult.

Those who know his sonatas or his studies, who already have a strong foothold in Romanticism, will probably find the concerto, written earlier, more classical. “Even in the concerto, however, you hear to what extent she had a lively and bright mind, and a very good sense of humor,” warns M^me Pawn. It’s like when I was working on a Haydn concerto and I was laughing to myself and telling myself that it was really a good joke! The Montgeroult concerto is a bit like that. If the audience doesn’t laugh, I’m going to have missed my shot a little! »

“In the writings we have about her, everyone says they have never heard the piano played like that. There is a disarming virtuosity in certain passages,” adds the woman who will also perform the Concerto^o 24 in C minorK. 491, by Mozart at the same concert, a work composed at the same time as the Montgeroult concerto.

The day after our interview, Élisabeth Pion flew off to work on Mozart, which she has often played in concert, with none other than Alfred Brendel. ” He knows what he is talking about ! “, she said respectfully.

At the Bourgie Hall, she will have the chance to play the two works on a Broadwood piano, a maker that Montgeroult particularly appreciated. “These instruments had a more sustained sound, a mechanism that allowed more singing, so it was more suited to her,” explains the artist, whose collaboration with Arion will be the subject of a recording.

The concert will also feature an overture from Montgeroult (an arrangement by Arion’s conductor, Mathieu Lussier) and the Symphony n^o 26 in E flat majorK. 184, by Mozart, a little-heard early work.

“People are often touched, surprised, by Montgeroult’s music, because we wouldn’t expect that for his time,” says Élisabeth Pion. In style, it is profoundly visionary. It’s really like Chopin or Schumann before their time. His music is like a missing piece in the historical puzzle. »

At Bourgie Hall from October 6 to 8

Also on the program

A trumpet virtuoso in Montreal

Described as the “Paganini of the trumpet”, Sergei Nakariakov is a living legend. He will be at Bourgie Hall on October 16 (7:30 p.m.) in the company of pianist Maria Meerovitch and Daishin Kashimoto, no less than the concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic. Nakariakov will perform on a flugelhorn, a darker-sounding cousin of the trumpet. We will hear works by Schumann, Brahms and Grieg. The concert will be repeated the following evening at the Club musical de Québec.

Chaplin in a new light with the OSM

The dictator by Chaplin has seduced generations of moviegoers with his humor, but also with his message of peace. Why talk about this film in a music section? This cinema classic will be screened at the Maison symphonique while the Montreal Symphony Orchestra will play the soundtrack, restored by Timothy Brock, who will also be on the podium. The two performances, on October 18 (7:30 p.m.) and October 19 (10:30 a.m.), will be followed by a 30-minute interview.

Mozart, between shadow and light

The month of October is decidedly fascinating at Bourgie Hall, which will present, on October 22 (2:30 p.m.), the concert Mozart, from joy to sadness with Harpsichord in concert. Four experienced musicians (Luc Beauséjour on pianoforte, Antoine Bareil on violin, Juan-Miguel Hernandez on viola and Cameron Crozman on cello) will compete against three masterpieces: the Variations for cello and piano on “Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen” (of the Magic flute by Mozart) by Beethoven, as well as the Sonata for violin and piano in G majorK. 379, and the overwhelming Quartet for strings and piano in G minorK. 478, by Mozart.

A journey of four centuries full of poetry

Le Poème harmonique and its conductor Vincent Dumestre finally return to Montreal. Those whose records (at Alpha) win prize after prize have never ceased to surprise us. Spectators at the Bourgie Hall will hear, on October 28 (7:30 p.m.), an anthology of works performed in the courts of France and Italy during the time of the young Louis XIV. Lully, Charpentier, Delalande and Cavalli will rub shoulders with lesser-known composers like Moulinié and Uccellini.