LDV60

WILHEM LATCHOUMIA 27 Let’s take a closer look at the ballet. Do you perceive a stylistic evolution in the three sets of piano pieces arranged in the middle of the Second World War? Yes, the style does definitely evolve. The last set (op.102) is undoubtedly the most dense, with its concluding number, Amoroso , a kind of impressionist fresco that emerges from the mist and breaks with the style of the previous pieces. Op.97 concentrates more on the ball and the various dances. The pieces are shorter – the Bourrée , the Passepied etc. – and more incisive, and Prokofiev’s sarcastic temperament asserts itself here. The op.95 set is entirely focused on the famous episode of the slipper, which is portrayed by the Valse lente . How would you define Prokofiev’s piano style in technical terms? It’s the style of a composer who writes above all for himself! Like Rachmaninoff, for example. These immense composer-performers created their own technique to suit the morphology of their hands. In addition to audio documents, there is a video of Prokofiev at the piano. Unfortunately, we can’t hear him, but we can see the prodigious flexibility of his left hand. It’s inimitable, and that’s what makes all the difference as compared to other composers. This is one of the keys to his technique, because it shows how he makes use of finger spacing to produce very personal formulas. One couldmention many other elements, such as the astonishing briskness required for the shifts of hand position. Each performer must finds his or her own technical solutions to these challenges.