Jean-Yves Thibaudet

Jean-Yves Thibaudet

THIBAUDET DUKES IT OUT

French Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet Reflects on Ellington
In 1997, Jean-Yves Thibaudet released CONVERSATIONS WITH BILL EVANS, a remarkable tribute by a classical musician to a jazz giant. Now, with REFLECTIONS ON DUKE, the young French pianist applies his elegant touch to the music of Duke Ellington. Thibaudet isn't about to abandon the classics, though. On WARSAW CONCERTO he plays romantic favorites by Rachmaninov, Gershwin, and Shostakovich -- music that evokes black-and-white films of the 1940s. From his Paris apartment, Thibaudet talked about his eclectic tastes with Andrew Farach-Colton, barnesandnoble.com's Classical Editor.

barnesandnoble.com: What attracted you to Ellington's music?

Jean-Yves Thibaudet: Duke Ellington is one of the most important composers of the century, period! He had the ability to write a melody that goes right to your heart and that won't go out of your brain -- it just haunts you.

bn: In your notes for REFLECTIONS ON DUKE, you say that Ellington's music is all about "love, intimacy, and deep feelings." What you mean by that?

JT: I think all his music is about love, but not always an easy, happy love, like it is in the movies. No, his music is about lost love, a love that is difficult, or a kind of love one is longing for. It's very intimate music.

bn: Did you study Ellington's own piano playing as preparation for the recording?

JT: Of course. But there aren't many recordings of Ellington playing solo piano. So what was also important to me was the sound he got from his orchestra. He has a signature sound. He was able to create a mood, an atmosphere that you can recognize as soon as you hear it.

bn: You've also recorded WARSAW CONCERTO, an album of "romantic piano classics from the silver screen" whose title refers to Richard Addinsell's hyper-romantic "concerto," which he composed for the film "Dangerous Moonlight."

JT: Yes. I love the "Warsaw Concerto! It's a marvelous piece of music and I had such fun playing it. It has to be taken for what it is -- a pastiche of Rachmaninov -- but it's done so brilliantly. And one of the most brilliant things about it is that it's only nine minutes long. If it was any longer, it would be too much.

bn: There's lots of Rachmaninov on the disc, too. It seems like his music fell out of fashion for a while because people associated it with weepy old movies, but now it's popular again.

JT: Yes, sometimes performers make too much of it, and it becomes too sweet, like a cake of pure sugar. But hearing Rachmaninov's own recordings was a revelation to me. He plays with such beautiful simplicity and delicacy.

bn: What's next for you?

JT: Well, I've finished recording all of Debussy's piano music. I've also recorded a Chopin album, which was very special because I was able to play on one of Chopin's own pianos. Most of the disc is recorded on a modern Steinway, but for two tracks I play Chopin's piano, so you can really hear the difference between the instruments. Next year I'll be recording an album with Reneé Fleming, whom I adore. I'm really looking forward to that!