A 90th Birthday Celebration - Live In Paris

CD

1. Dvorak: Piano Quintet in A major Op.81
   I Allegro, ma non tanto
   II  Dumka: Andante con moto
   III Scherzo (Furiant): molto vivace 
   IV Finale: Allegro
2. Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major "The Trout” D.667                                    
   I   Allegro vivace
   II  Andante
   III Scherzo: Presto
   IV Andantino – Allegretto
   V  Allegro giusto
3. Debussy: String Quartet in G minor Opus 10
   III. Andantino, doucement expressif                                                         

DVDI

1. Dvorak: Piano Quintet in A major Op.81
   I   Allegro, ma non tanto
   II  Dumka: Andante con moto
   III Scherzo (Furiant): molto vivace 
   IV Finale: Allegro
2. Schubert: Winterreise D. 91, No.5:   Der Lindenbaum    
3. Schubert: Winterreise D. 91, No.11: Frühlingstraum       
4. Schubert: Winterreise D. 91, No.15: Die Krähe
5. Schubert: Winterreise D. 91, No.24: Der Leiermann                                                                               
6. Schubert: Piano Quintet in A major "The Trout” D.667
   I   Allegro vivace
   II  Andante
   III Scherzo: Presto
   IV Andantino – Allegretto
   V Allegro giusto
7. Debussy: String Quartet in G minor Opus 10
   III. Andantino, doucement expressif                                                         

The Quatuor Ebène was invited by legendary pianist Menahem Pressler to join him in celebrating his 90th birthday at a concert at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in November 2013. Their programme included two of the most life-affirming works in the chamber repertoire, Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A major and Schubert’s ‘Trout’ Quintet, which form the CD version of this release. Among the additional items on the DVD version, and also offered on digital as a bonus audio track is the mesmerising encore: the Quatuor Ebène in the slow movement of Debussy’s quartet, for which Pressler joined the string players on stage as a silent, but physically responsive partner. No wonder the 1800-strong audience burst into a rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’.

90 years old, and still performing superbly as a soloist and chamber musician, pianist Menahem Pressler is a phenomenon – as the members of the Quatuor Ebène delightedly acknowledged at a celebratory concert at Paris’s Salle Pleyel on November 7th 2013. Recordings made at the concert, which also brought contributions from the double-bassist Benjamin Berlioz and the tenor Christoph Prégardien, have now been released by Erato on both CD and DVD.

The central items on the birthday programme were two of the most life-affirming works in the chamber repertoire, Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A major Op.81 and Schubert’s Piano Quintet in A major D.667 ‘Die Forelle’ (The Trout); performed by the Quatuor Ebène and Pressler, these constitute the material for the CD release. Additional items are included on the DVD: four songs from Schubert’s Winterreise, with Prégardien and Pressler; a solo from Pressler, Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor, and the evening’s encore – the Quatuor Ebène in the exquisitely intense slow movement of Debussy’s String Quartet (a work which featured on the Ebène’s debut release on Virgin Classics back in 2008). In choosing this piece – which is also available to CD buyers as a bonus audio track on digital – the French musicians were making reference to Pressler’s victory in the 1946 Debussy International Piano Competition in San Francisco, which launched his international career. At the Salle Pleyel, Pressler was seated on stage with the quartet as they played the movement, and it is both charming and touching to watch his shifting facial expressions and his bodily responses to the music and the players: it almost becomes another, ‘virtual’ quintet. No wonder that, at the end of the concert, the 1800-strong audience in the hall was moved to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to the nonagenarian maestro.

Explaining his extraordinary longevity as a performer, Pressler – who spent 53 years as the pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio, which he founded in 1955 – has said (in an interview with Piano Mag in 2013): “I'm a born pianist, in the most literal sense. I have devoted my life to the piano, to music: this feeds me each day ...  It is a rich and healthy life when one can devote oneself exclusively to one's art ... I never miss the chance to share and play with others ... If I stay away from the keyboard for more than 48 hours at a time, I can feel myself growing weak ... It's a physical need ... I keep working – I practise double notes and arpeggios, I play concerts, I cross time zones, and I spend my days running from gate to gate in all the airports of the world to not miss my plane. It's much better [physical exercise] than a treadmill.”

Pressler and the Quatuor Ebène initially established a rapport when they met at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, but their first concert together took place in Munich in 2011. Pressler flew into Germany from Bloomington, Indiana, where he is long established as a professor at the world-renowned Jacobs School of Music. He scheduled an evening rehearsal for the day of his arrival, and he and the Ebène played for a solid five hours, with the French string players fuelling up on drinks and sandwiches to match the pianist’s stamina. The five musicians developed a special affinity – “They are the best,” says Pressler of the French ensemble – and when the management of the Salle Pleyel-Cité de la musique asked him to suggest guests for his 90th birthday celebration, the members of the Quatuor Ebène were at the top of the list.

Originally, there were no formal plans for a commercial release of the audio and video recordings of this concert, but the presence of the Quatuor Ebène, the quality of the music-making – captured live with no subsequent patching sessions – and the emotional impact of the entire event made it a natural choice for Erato. The label is proud to add this 90th birthday celebration to its catalogue.