Brad Mehldau and Anne Sofie von Otter in the Theatre Maisonneuve
My first album was a classic 33 laps of Chopin. My first pop record a CD of the Beatles. And my first acquisition of jazz was the John Coltrane. The purchase of Chopin was inspired by a book which included a moving portrait of the Polish genius when I was 8 years old. The Beatles album purchased by an electric guitar as a teenager. Coltrane and the Mr Holland's film
opus seen for the first time in 24 years and where the main character, played by Richard Dreyfuss, telling his son what was primarily responsible for his passion for music and it was great to saxophonist
A Love Supreme.
What he learned from that paragraph back? That jazz came a little later than the rest, yes, and although it does not downgrade the classical music in my heart, he is, like pop music, an important man in my life, musician and music lover. If a piece of jazz or pop approximates a little bit of classical music, either the interpretation or instrumentation, my ears can then spin the perfect happiness. Tonight, the pianist Brad Mehldau and mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter gave us a magnificent concert at the Theatre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts. Dame von Otter was his first performance in Montreal.
The program was generous and eclectic: one part classic, with songs by Grieg, Sibelius, Brahms, Strauss ... Mehldau is even sang two pieces for solo piano from the opus 79 Brahms. And the second classic, with songs composed by Mehldau and can be heard, duet with Swedish mezzo, in the beautiful double disc Love songs, published a few months ago Naïve. These songs, which are in the tradition of classical music and song (in terms of style rather than the language), involve the mastery of piano technique and writing classic Mehldau: we it finds counterpoint, harmony and melody carefully wrought. Then, the duo has served some traditional French songs, which can also be heard in Love songs, among them Say when are you coming back Barbara, Maxence's Song by Michel Legrand, and Parts English directory, which Blackbird Beatles and the beautiful Marcie Joni Mitchell, to name a few. But we must admit that it is in the second part that the pianist has really dazzled. That's where he was the most dashing, the most imaginative and liberated "rules" and the rigor of classical music. There he was given whole. A true jazzman , Mehldau has ventured into paths and winding melodic sober, transforming themes, relaying the right hand to the left, making the piano a seasoned tenor, all without excess Lace and without unnecessary pyrotechnics. His touch, his phrasing was something hypnotic (whew, the chirping of birds in the solo Blackbird !), And the amplitude of the piano sound, although small, finally gushed into her size - it is a pity the Steinway Theatre Maisonneuve reach difficult to reach f for acting could use some work.
Anne Sofie von Otter was equally impeccable singing with precision and sensitivity. In addition to phrase beautifully, the complicity of the tandem was clear and beautiful to behold. Addressing the audience in French and English, his spontaneity and ease on the scene simply showed, a thousand miles from that other great singers have already given the public that they secretly nicknamed "divas" to the unpredictability of their temperament than for their vocal abilities.
The duo gave two encores. To my friend who accompanied me, I blew, "I want them to play until the clock strikes midnight.
When I go to concerts and also teeming coolers, I can not help but think of those three records purchased several years ago. In equal measure, they were all three in the spotlight tonight.