This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
-
Co-produced3.5
Sonate Tableaux
Minna Re Shin, piano
Co-produced with ombú productions (June 2022)
On June 15 this year, pianist Minna Re Shin launched her album at a recital held at the Gora art gallery in downtown Montreal. The album centrepiece, entitled Sonate Tableaux, consists of two excerpts from a larger work of the same name, written in 1988 by composer Alain Payette. The pianist tackled the first movement before giving way to a video clip based on the four and last movement, directed by Carlos Ferrand. Since the June launch, Sonate Tableaux : Mouvement 1, the first of four to be conceived in this format, was crowned as the best music video shown during the 4theatre festival.
Payette’s work, written in an unabashedly romantic style, is very dense in style and wide-ranging in dynamics, in keeping with the letter and spirit of Wagner, yet coloured with some impressionistic touches that are occasionally nebulous or a bit unsettling These intersecting influences are easily felt in the opening movement, and Re Shin seems literally inhabited by these; she is just as good to meet the demands of those more ambitious passages head-on when she makes the instrument bend to the needs of the music, yet she can also draw out some unusual overtones that add a humorous touch to the proceedings.
The second movement, in contrast, is much darker, even tortured, while the third unfolds at a quicker pace, with several beautiful lyrical flights emerging along the way. As the final movement begins and the tension is left unabated, listeners may well feel a bit overcome by the unyielding intensity of the performance. But for those who are keen on bracing musical experiences, this one fills the bill hands-down.
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
