LDV98-9

23 FRANÇOIS-FRÉDÉRIC GUY To get back to the Sonata in B minor, I’d say it’s there that Chopin demonstrates just how perfectly he mastered large form. Its slow movement can be seen, in a sense, as the biggest nocturne he ever composed. My interpretation doesn’t claim to belong to any particular tradition. It’s more an attempt at a synthesis between the freedom of certain interpreters of the past and the sophistication, even the rigorist dimension, found in others. Some of these artists sometimes lack a certain passion, while others may lack a certain rigour. As for the Polish tradition . . . In a way, Chopin brought Poland to France, presenting his major works in Parisian salons that were open to the whole of Europe. As someone who plays contemporary repertory so regularly, what is your view of Chopin’s influence on the composers of our time? Pierre Boulez played the nocturnes and mazurkas of Chopin. It’s been said that some of his Notations were inspired by the Polish composer’s style, since the taste for aphorism is apparent in both men. Henri Dutilleux never concealed his admiration for the composer of the Barcarolle . And Tristan Murail’s most recent piano concerto, L’Œil du cyclone , which I premiered in Paris, is subtitled ‘Fantaisie- Impromptu’! For one of today’s great composers openly to honour the legacy of someone like Chopin is revealing, and amounts to an extraordinary tribute.