Henri Dutilleux: Choral et variations

Henri Dutilleux (1916-2013)
Piano Sonata, op. 1 (1947/48)
Pianist : Emil Reinert
"Choral et variations" is the 3rd movement of Dutilleux's piano sonata, op. 1.
It was dedicated to and premièred by his wife Geneviève Joy on 30 April 1948. It has since become one of the most acclaimed post-World War II works in the genre and has been championed by major pianists such as John Ogdon, Robert Levin, John Chen and Emil Reinert.
Although Dutilleux had been active as a composer for ten years when he wrote his piano sonata, he viewed it as his Opus 1, the first work that he considered up to his mature standards.
Debussy, Ravel, Bartók and Prokofiev have been cited as influences on the piece although critics have also stressed that its language is original and distinctive, a personal synthesis of French Impressionism and Soviet music.

[@sauliusnavikas3109]

Amazing and stunning! Very complex, stimulating and relaxing at same time! Bravo!

[@martialhost]

Magnificent and incredible writing, of a complexity always at the service of musicality and expression, which requires a lot of technique in the perfect control of the different articulations that one can imagine ... Henri Dutilleux, huge French composer ! Very great interpretation !

[@emiliopiano.official]

I couldn't agree more! Thank you for that comment :)

[@adlfm]

Kudos on nailing the many keyboard pyrotechnics of the piece. The passage at 3:08 sounds insane. What a pity Dutilleux wrote so little for the piano.

[@supasayajinsongoku4464]

kinda unrelated but whats the most exciting piano piece you've heard this month? Mines was Hamelins prelude and fugue!

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Epic.

[@SCRIABINIST]

2:05 Prokofiev 7th Sonata

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

True

[@engloute]

That's the stuff!

[@davidecarlassara8525]

My favorite French composer! Astonishing and engaging

[@vittoriorabagliati8532]

"french"

[@supasayajinsongoku4464]

kinda unrelated but whats the most exciting piano piece you've heard this year?

[@davidecarlassara8525]

@@supasayajinsongoku4464 you mean that I discovered this year?

[@supasayajinsongoku4464]

@@davidecarlassara8525 yeah

[@davidecarlassara8525]

I think I discovered them last year but I would say Mozart K 503 and Stanchinsky 5 preludes in form of a canon

[@jackcurley1591]

Woah! What a cool rhythm starting at 1:47

[@CatkhosruShapurrjiFurabji]

Indeed

[@AsrielKujo]

Kapustin like haha

[@supasayajinsongoku4464]

kinda unrelated but whats the most exciting piano piece you've heard this month? Mines was Hamelins prelude and fugue!

[@jackcurley1591]

@@supasayajinsongoku4464 The Hamelin prelude and fugue is great! I saw Bruce Liu in concert 2 weeks ago so that probably takes the cake, but in terms of new music I’ve heard in the past month, either Janis Kepitis’ moods or Eshpai’s sonatinas

[@supasayajinsongoku4464]

@@jackcurley1591 your really lucky seeing bruce liu live!

[@swgliveaz]

What song name is this?

[@docbailey3265]

At 1:48 this dude really starts to djent. And geez Louise, one of the notes in the upper register is in desperate need of a tuning.

[@supasayajinsongoku4464]

kinda unrelated but whats the most exciting piano piece you've heard this year?

[@docbailey3265]

@@supasayajinsongoku4464 Litanies by Alain.

[@unnamed_boi]

4½/16

[@supasayajinsongoku4464]

kinda unrelated but whats the most exciting piano piece you've heard this month?

[@unnamed_boi]

@@supasayajinsongoku4464 how did you find me here well anyways, the most exciting piano piece i heard within the last 30 days or so is probably a bu's first piano sonata. it gets me quite hyped up i suppose

[@supasayajinsongoku4464]

@@unnamed_boi i can find you anywhere

[@notnek202]

Sounds like to many wrong notes.

[@SM-ef7yp]

not at all

[@jeppgd5183]

Music like this, just sounds absolutely horrible and it feels it’s tearing both the instrument and what music is apart. I respect the dude who composed, just for me no matter how much though and time went into it, it’s just extremely unpleasant to listen to. And i say this while playing Bartoks piano sonata

[@zackl7467]

Do you at least like the Bartok though?

[@jeppgd5183]

@@zackl7467 Bartok is one of the most fun pieces I’ve ever played, so I definitely like it

[@mitchellspencer2918]

@@jeppgd5183 That's funny because I feel the other way around. There is so much beauty in Dutilleux's sonata here, especially in the contrast between the octatonic passages and its moments of tonal clarity. Bartok's might be more tonal but often just feels like a jackhammer on the piano (talk about tearing an instrument apart).

[@giovannimarcomarco1918]

you respect the composer by saying that ?