BEATRICE RANA/YANNICK NÉZET-SÉGUIN/ORCHESTRE DE CHAMBRE D’EUROPE – CLARA & ROBERT SCHUMANN : PIANO CONCERTOS

Pianist Beatrice Rana is one of the undisputed stars to have passed through the Concours musical international de Montréal (we like to think that it’s a little thanks to us that she reached this status. A little). Her career is nothing short of meteoric, and with good reason. The amplitude of its dynamic, technical and musical possibilities is remarkable. She proves it again here in the performance full of life and fascinating nuances of the famous Concerto in A minor.by Robert Schumann, which she revisits with the no less important assistance of Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the head of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Classic vision, in the sense of traditional, of this concerto, but with the added value of artists at the peak of their art. 

Their ability to create striking nuanced effects while remaining faithful to the spirit of the work opens the door to superb instrumental moments. The dark power of Robert’s concerto (although bathed in light) stands in contrast to the more classical and stellar force of Clara’s, also in A minor. A directed and focused force, with a splendid orchestra but which expresses itself in a precise and sometimes surgical way. This brings out Clara’s willpower, which was the spark plug for Robert to finally dare to embark on large-scale composition for orchestra. Yes, it was Clara who never stopped telling her husband to write a concerto, then symphonies, things he did a few years after his marriage. The irony is that Clara didn’t take her own advice. It’s a shame, but let’s appreciate this convincing example of a precocious intellect (she wrote her concerto at 14!), here restored with panache by another young prodigy, almost 200 years later.