THIERRY ESCAICH
Press Notices
“One of the most fascinating chameleons of his generation: to believe so, you have to hear Thierry Escaich improvising live, in any form and from all the styles you can imagine. To an instrumental mastery with an ease that is very close to infallibility, adds, in this really special musician, an escalation of outstanding mental faculties that enable him to muse at his best with the whole of the western music resources".
- Diapason
“A new lyrical inspiration. Drawing from the most ancient sources, composer Thierry Escaich rushes into accepted ideas"
- Le Monde
“…an improviser of genius…Escaich is solidity itself, rhythmically rich, at times evoking J. Alain or Bartok.”
- Diapason
“…improvisations overflowing with imagination and pages of Bach mastery inspiring jubilation.”
- Le Monde de la
Musique
“ ‘Hats off Gentlemen, a genius’ Thus Robert Schumann expressed himself in an article in 1831 devoted tone of the first scores by Chopin… One can bet without fear that he would have used exactly the same phrase in reference to the improvisation on the same theme with which Thierry Escaich opened the evening.”
- La
“The genius of Escaich as composer and improviser is such that it is good from time to time to hear him in repertoire other than his own compositions in order to remember that he is also an excellent organist.”
- Chromiques
“To an instrumental mastery of facility bordering on infallibility is added with this truly unique musician a higher bid of confounding mental facilities permitting him to go back most effectively to all the historic resources of western music, via the Gregorian or the Lutheran chorale, tonality, polytonality, and modality juxtaposing and fusing into a totally unique amalgam, and felt as spontaneous, without forsaking use of all which stimulates imagination and creative freedom, orientalism or African dance…one never seems to be able to circumscribe the personality of Escaich. It asserts itself, still one and original, undeniable, but richly synthetic.”
-
Diapason
“Thierry Escaich improvised works of phenomenal inventiveness…”
“The improvisations he developed from themes presented to him onstage
were as cohesive and complete as large-scale compositions.”
“…brilliant interpretations of pieces by Charles Tournemire, Olivier Messiaen, and MauriceDuruflé.”
“His performance was so thrilling that the audience leaped up to
applaud at the end.”
- Cleveland Plain Dealer
“As a musical Renaissance man, Escaich is hard to top.”
“Escaich put together a majestic, three-tiered composition that was at
once complex, satisfying and enchanting.”
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RECORDING REVIEWS:
Hommage à Maurice Duruflé Calliope - CAL 9939
‘Not only does Thierry Escaich play these pieces by Duruflé with a virtuosity
that combines great insight and feeling, but he also shows what a
brilliant improviser he can be in the inspired glosses of the 4 Commentaires improvisés.’
- Le Monde