Saturday

20th Century Romantic Paris? I have the answer.

 

This Video Accompanies Blog, Cortot

 

Alfred Cortot, pronunciation, Cor-toe, (the French!), is an individual so full of acclaim that my intuition would feel wholly unfair for those of you that don't know of this French, Swiss master, or could use a reminder.

1877 until 1962 , French pianist, composer, conductor, performer, arranger, and teacher, Cortot's exquisite care of French and German classical, like, Beethoven, Wagner, Brahms', Roussel, Magnard, Schumann and, Cortot's scholarly manipulation of Chopin's music is unmatched, simply unheard of.

Cortot's love as a conductor and solo pianist rivaled his teaching, guest conducting orchestras, and concertos, the concertos with a highly regarded cellist and violinist.  

Technical musical advancements of course, yet he touched the Romantic classical repertoire with deep sensitivity, and poem.

World War II - crossing lines for artistry, where, how, when do you draw these hypothetical lines?  German occupation of France during the Second World War,

Cortot held concerts in Germany.  Some even questioned if Cortot's motives were for the Nazis. With a Jewish wife and cousin married to Leon Blum, first Jew as Prime Minister of France, some familial emotions likely bubbled up.

Cortot is simply, uniquely, an embodied epitome of Romantic period classical music.  Albeit on occasion his genius mind fell silent and he had brief memory lapses during crowded performances.  Not surprisingly, memory collapses go hand in hand with sleep deprivation.  You think he was in love with his work?

Romantic Paris in the 20th century?  Cortot.

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