LDV60

30 PROKOFIEV | COWELL You mentioned the French influences in Prokofiev’s music. Don’t you think of his Russian heritage first of all? Curiously enough, I don’t see in this music a link with Tchaikovsky, for example, despite the fact that he wrote three fabulous ballets. On the other hand, a certain irony, a harshness of language evokes the Shostakovich of the famous Suite for Jazz Orchestra no.2. I’m thinking of the episode in which Cinderella goes to the ball. But Prokofiev’s pianowriting is more finely detailed than his compatriot’s piano scores. You alsoworkedwith the orchestral scores.What does that imply in terms of phrasing, tempo and dynamics? I’d like to make it clear that my approach is not that of a transcriber. I play what Prokofiev composed. At the piano, I do of course think of the orchestra and, in the firstplace,oftherangeofdynamics.Onemightsaythey’renotthatimportantinthis particular ballet. Forte on the piano means ‘loud’. But in an orchestral score? There it canmean ‘more ample’, which considerably increases the colouristic possibilities. Similarly, when Prokofiev marks ‘staccato’ on the score and immediately adds ‘with elegance’, we’re not far from a contradiction in terms . . . The performer must find the real meaning of the dynamics and propose his or her conception while preserving the narrative. As far as tempi are concerned, the problem is different. With the orchestra, some fast tempi seem self-evident. But if they are respected to the letter on the piano, they make it difficult to understand the complexity and the subtleties of Prokofiev’s music. Because of that, I sometimes choose tempi that are a little slower.