The Flower Of France
Music & Arts, 2023
8/10
Listen to The Flower Of France
The Vietnamese pianist Quynh Nguyen pays homage to Germaine Tailleferre, where these pieces originally for solo piano unfold with excerpts from her ballets and film scores, including some rarely heard pieces.
“Impromptu” opens the listen with the waves of beauty from the keys emanating much fluidity, and “Romance” follows with a very heartfelt demeanor of emotion flowing from the progressions.
Further on, “Fleurs de France” emits 8 chapters of soft versus firm dynamics from the vivid finger acrobatics, while “Larghetto” displays a stirring intimacy thanks to the precise tone of the poetic piano.
Approaching the end, “Barbizon” illustrates both restraint and adventurousness from the agile keys, and “Singeries” exits with upbeat and frisky patterns of timeless, attentive song craft.
An artist with a very natural approach to melodic gestures, Nguyen plays with a vision that far exceeds her years, and these pieces illustrate an enormous talent that deserves all the praise thrown her way.
Travels well with: JoAnn Falletta- Elfman-Hailstork Concertos; Orion Weiss- Arc II: Ravel, Brahms, Shostakovich