The Bourgie Hall welcomes the Wanderer Trio on Wednesday, the largest active trio, in one of the absolute masterpieces of the genre: theOpus 100 by Schubert. The duty wanted to discuss with his pianist, Vincent Coq, about life as a musician within such a group and how to keep the flame alive after 37 years of musical life together.
“The important thing in a chamber music group, as in any human group, is to respect everyone’s space. Entering into chamber music is not entering into religion; we must not lock ourselves into something that would become suffocating. It is very important to be able to do other things elsewhere: teach, play with others. In short, to maintain a space of freedom,” Vincent Coq tells us.
References
When we listen to the Trio Wanderer, release after release, we have the impression of hearing musicians of such intimacy that they know and can anticipate each other’s reactions to the millimeter.
The existence of the Trio Wanderer, which will play Wednesday at the Bourgie Hall on Trio opus 63 by Schumann, Tristia of Liszt and the Trio opus 100 by Schubert, is a blessing for discophiles, who can refer almost with their eyes closed to each of his releases. In recent years, we have thought of the succession of Dvořák records (Trios op. 65 And 90) in 2017; Haydn in 2018; to the fabulous CD of Rachmaninoff’s two trios in 2019; At Quintet by Shostakovich in 2020, to the album Schumann (Trios, Quartet and Quintet with piano) in 2021, then at Franck in 2023, coupled with Quintet with piano from Vierne.
It is very rare to find musicians so relentlessly referential. We think here of the pianists Benjamin Grosvenor, Sergeï Babayan or Arcadi Volodos, the recording projects of the Musicians of Saint-Julien and François Lazarevich or the Takács Quartet.
For the Wanderer Trio, “no instructions”, no rules or no recipes. But one idea in mind: “Routine kills. » “A quartet certainly requires more rehearsals for more technical things, accuracy for example. But repeating every day from this time to that time, without a goal, just to repeat, is terrible. When you work, you have to know why. I am wary of routine which means that we no longer know why we are there,” analyzes Vincent Coq.
“When you are young, you have repertoire to put together, which requires a lot of rehearsal time. We see what we have to play and, accordingly, we organize our rehearsals. » But there is no question of rehashing, in principle, the Trio op. 100, played “hundreds of times”. The group is content to review essential points or to change the course of particular corners.
“Next week we will resume the Trio by Charles Ives that we haven’t touched in 25 years. It’s going to be like a discovery. But here too, and this is a particularity compared to the quartet, if everyone arrives with completed work on their part, things will go very quickly. Work reflexes are integrated things,” the pianist admits.
This is a basic precept taught by Vincent Coq to his students: “Chamber music is personal work. Working together is rewarding. But everyone needs to know where the work is going, what it’s about, put together their instrumental part and know what the others are doing. »
Vincent Coq teaches chamber music at the Haute École de musique de Lausanne. His colleagues, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian and Raphaël Pidoux, teach at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris, respectively in violin and cello. The educational activities of its members have never prevented the influence of the trio. “We have never canceled a concert because of that. » Moreover, specifies the pianist, “as soon as there is a tour, it is predictable in advance and it is not complex to make schedules “.
Perils
Even if the Wanderer Trio enjoys great international recognition, thanks to its 37 years of existence (8 with Guillaume Sutre on violin and 29 with his replacement, Jean-Marc Phillips-Varjabédian) and numerous recordings, the life of a cutting-edge chamber ensemble is not that of a star soloist or famous singer. “We cannot compare ourselves: the fees are lower, but not the costs. »
And a gap is widening. “I remember Franco Gulli, violinist with the Trio Italiano d’Archi, who told me about 30-concert tours in Germany in the 1960s, because it was possible to give a concert every 30 kilometers. This is all over. It has become very complicated to tour,” analyzes Vincent Coq.
Some are complex because of the administrative headache, like in the United States, others because it is difficult to find a series of concerts. “So we have to go back and forth a lot, which is not ideal, either ecologically or economically. In Europe, it’s not so bad. But last year we went to Seoul for just one concert and it wasn’t the first time! In absolute terms, it’s a bit silly, but it’s important to us. »
An upcoming tour of China and Japan with eight or nine concerts has a more reasonable profile. But, in general, “the potential number of concerts has decreased”. “In Europe, it’s two or three concerts, not like for a soloist, who is going to do a series of a concerto”, tells us the pianist, who regrets having had to refuse an isolated concert in Bremen where the group risked downright to have to, in the end, put your hand in your pocket. “And there are economically wrecked countries, like Italy or Spain, which have seen many concert seasons disappear,” concludes Vincent Coq, summarizing that “the economy, in chamber music, is really the nerve of the war “.
The pianist is therefore very concerned for the young ensembles, because “there is a time when you have to live well”. “You really have to have the will to continue. Many groups change formation throughout their history. But this is happening after a year! » says the professor, who sees a number of groups caught up in economic realities.
Concerns and limitations
It may be surprising to see that the tour is accompanied by the reissue of a 24-year-old recording of Schubert’s trios. “We haven’t talked about doing them again,” admits the pianist of the Trio Wanderer, who is satisfied with the rhythm of one record per year. “The Schubert trios on CD are the picture of what we were doing 25 years ago. Obviously, we have evolved. But record companies have major economic concerns in terms of production and none escapes them. We are privileged, because we have always made recordings in excellent conditions. We often discuss repertoire with Harmonia Mundi and have never really discussed the idea of re-recording repertoires, except for the Trio of Ravel, because it will be Ravel’s birthday in 2025 and he will be surrounded by new things. »
And if I Musici or Les Violons du Roy asked the very refined pianist to come and play a Mozart concerto with them, would he be flattered? “I would say no. I don’t play alone, because I’m not attracted to that. I don’t feel psychologically armed; I don’t want that,” Vincent Coq answers us with great frankness. “I want to do what I really love. I have no attraction to exposing myself alone on stage: it worries me more than anything else and I’m very happy like that! »
When it is pointed out to him that as a trio pianist, he is as subtle and fascinating as Menahem Pressler (1923-2023), the legendary pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, who did not shy away from the exercise of solo and even refused to stop, Vincent Coq had a lot of fun: “Pressler needed the stage. If he could have played 350 shows a year, he would have. If he were in Florence with a free day, he would not have gone to visit the Uffizi Museum; but would have rather taken this time to feel depressed about not having a concert that day! He was almost juvenile in his appetite. These are life choices. »