LDV98-9

18 CHOPIN | SECRET GARDEN In short, the piano at the service of the art of vocality... Yes, that’s the essential characteristic of Chopin’s instrumental output – and incidentally, he also wrote some superb songs. On the other hand, no one ever talks about vocality in Beethoven, even though he wrote works like the Missa solemnis , Fidelio and others. Chopin is an inventor, even down to the continuous use of the pedal over several bars: he wants to sustain the sound as long as possible, shrouded in a haze that adds a mystery to a phrase which might otherwise appear Classical, as Beethoven had done in the ‘Waldstein’ Sonata. How did you set out to express this vocality, and with which instrument? I discovered the firm of Pianos Balleron and its director Sylvie Fouanon, who gave me the opportunity to play the 2.86-metre 1905 Pleyel she had just finished restoring. I needed time to adjust my playing technique, since this type of Pleyel doesn’t have a double escapement action.* * The double escapement on a piano is a system of repeat action. Thanks to a spring and a movable lever, it allows the key to repeat rapidly and indefinitely. This ingenious invention by Sébastien Érard dates from 1821. It was improved in 1833 by a patent taken out by Pierre Érard, Sébastien’s nephew. The system is found on all grand pianos today. On the other hand, it cannot be applied to the vertical action of upright pianos (translated from the lexicon of the piano at Pianos Balleron – www.pianos.fr) .