Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Sonate pour piano en mi mineur, op. 7
Extraits de "Pièces lyriques"

Matthieu Idmtal, piano

Il y a de cela presque trente ans, un pianiste de mes amis, dont je tairais le nom, affubla avec un brin de condescendance les pièces lyriques d’Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) d’un : « Musiques de salons pour jeunes filles rangées en mal de romance » alors que je louais le disque du jeune norvégien Leif Ove Andsnes qui y présentait aussi la sonate op.7 en mi m. Aujourd’hui c’est le pianiste belge Matthieu Idmtal qui relève le défi avec modestie et panache dans un programme quasi identique. Si la sonate aux premiers abords souffrirait de tempi modérés, c’est pour proposer une lecture analytique accentuée qui n’empêche pas les passages virtuoses très maîtrisés sous des doigts acérés ; toute la tendresse de l’Andante molto, cantilène céleste, répond à l’Alla Menuetto qui se mue en une marche funèbre et va crescendo. Cela donne à cette sonate de jeunesse du relief et des accents fiévreux pour atteindre un Finale, très nordique, plein de réminiscences elfiques mendelssohniennes qui répondent aux schumanniennes pièces lyriques - ariette ou papillon – ou aux échos chopiniens d’une valse ou du célèbre nocturne op.54. Grieg se place indiscutablement dans la lignée de la génération 1810 que souligne Matthieu Idmtal d’une lecture romanesque délicieusement poétique. La comparaison avec Leif Ove Andsnes était à faire ; les deux propositions sont un ravissement ! Chapeau bas… (Florestan de Marucaverde)

Having completed his studies at the Brussels conservatoire and won first prizes at several distinguished competitions for young musicians, Matthieu Idmtal quickly became known as a specialist in the music of Alexander Scriabin. His debut on record was dedicated to a sequence of the Russian composer’s Etudes and Preludes, and it won him golden reviews: ‘I have listened to Sofronitsky, Gilels, Richter and Ashkenazy – great Scriabin players all. Young Matthieu Idmtal has the potential to join that lofty group.’ (American Record Guide) His Scriabin disc was followed by an equally well-received album of the violin sonatas by Edvard Grieg, in company with his regular violin-recital partner Maya Levy. The natural sequel is this focus on the Norwegian composer’s solo output. Grieg composed seven books of Lyric Pieces across the course of his career: songs without words that amount to a diary of his compositional evolution as well as testament to enduring preoccupations such as the artistic transformation of folksong and the evocation of natural phenomena such as sunlight and the movement of water. Idmtal’s sequence ranges across all seven books, and does not shy away from established classics such as the Arietta and Wedding Day at Troldhaugen. However, he also includes several lesser-known and introspective masterpieces such as the Vanished Days and Homesickness from the Opus 57 set. Even by their side, however, the Piano Sonata Op 7 is an almost forgotten masterpiece. Grieg wrote it at the age of 22, recently graduated from the conservatoire in Leipzig, yet even within the first movement’s opening exposition there are shapes and harmonies that instantly identify the composer’s artistic fingerprint. The sonata reflects the ambitions and character of the young Grieg: high-spirited, virtuosic, impetuous, and permeated with brusque mood swings. Cast in a compressed version of the traditional four- movement form, it encompasses many changes of mood, sometimes very abrupt, as if the composer was overflowing with musical ideas and inspiration. It makes an ideal introduction to the familiar world of the Lyric Pieces as well as a notable debut for Matthieu Idmtal on Piano Classics.