a pianist dissects his gestures and his way of playing

Alexandre Tharaud, world famous pianist, masters all types of music. He reveals at 20 Hours what makes the beauty of a pianist’s gesture, Wednesday, September 28. To play a first technique, legato, Alexandre Tharaud imagines water flowing throughout his body. “At the piano, one of the most important things is to have a soft, mellow sound”, he explains. The arm and hands should then be relaxed.

Conversely, the staccato, which is sharper, is played with the wrist and the rigid fingertips. “I bounce quite a bit, you’ll have to have your fingers a bit like hooks”, says Alexandre Tharaud. Finally, virtuosity, which consists in playing quickly, implies knowing how to tame the thumb. “We have this thumb, which is a little wider than the other fingers, which is clumsy, a little out of step”, details the pianist, who performs a rotation around the thumb. Each technique requires hours of practice and listening.