Before giving way to violinist Augustin Dumay and pianist Frank Bradley for the evening concert on Saturday June 29, the Nohant Chopin Festival wanted to pay tribute to another musician: Samson François who gave an unforgettable recital at the venue in 1970.
A tender and intimate portrait
A very unique personality in the landscape of pianists, disconcerting for purists but of whom his only student, Bruno Rigutto, who came to remember him in public with the complicity of the photographer Alain Beauvais, paints a tender and intimate portrait.
“Samson was not a teacher but a visionary. Dazzled by his playing, so unacademic and so eager for freedom, I first dreamed of working alongside him… then of being able to imitate him. confides the pianist who today enjoys a long and prestigious career himself.
“He spent his time inventing the moment! »
That afternoon, we heard a number of delicious anecdotes but also an interpretation of Chopin that the artist gave in Nohant at the beginning of the festival. “The freedom he took with the works was the complete opposite of anything goes,” underlines Bruno Rigutto. And indeed, from the first notes of this recording released to the public, we are struck by the style, the ease, the effortless virtuosity and the great expressiveness of the playing. “He spent his time inventing the moment!”
Taking us into his memories, the Chopin Festival offers us a kaleidoscope of moments past and present, a true dialogue.
Behind the scenes stories
Time seems to return to itself, to become denser. And we listen, with as much pleasure as a concert, to the testimony of this afternoon, these behind-the-scenes stories, these stories of a missed plane for a concert and the incredible request from Samson François to the then young Bruno : “Can you please tell them it’s your fault?” »
The nightlife of this wild child that was Samson, too, and the first class that young Bruno goes to, discovering his future teacher still in his pajamas in the chaos of his room.
Few compliments
The few compliments that the student will receive from the master during these six shared years will also be mentioned. There remains this one, unforgettable, when he has just played in front of him: “I like this, keep it, it’s yours.” These bursts of intimacy compared to the impressive biography of the man that Jean-Yves Clément and Yves Henry give us help us to better understand these photos projected on the wall where we see the artist, cigarette in his mouth, and with a je ne sais quoi of the sixty-eight revolution in the silhouette.
Yvan Bernaer
The Nohant Chopin Festival returns from July 18 to 24, 2024. First concert, Thursday, July 18, at 8:30 p.m., with a recital by Nikolai Lugansky. Information, prices and reservations on www.festivalnohant.com
