At 58, Jean-Yves Thibaudet isn’t quite the flashy pianist he was when he first burst on the scene. But that doesn’t mean he can’t excite an audience with his playing. On Tuesday night he will join the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl for a performance of the Ravel Piano Concerto in G.
Thibaudet has become a regular in Los Angeles, both with his many appearances with the LA Philharmonic (including an appearance this October where he will perform Gershwin’s Concerto in F ) an also in his role as Artist-in-Residence at the Colburn School (his role there continues through the 2019-2020 season.)
This piano concerto by Ravel, while having noticeable jazz influences, still hews to a traditional classical form. The three-movement structure follows a fast-slow-fast structure. The last movement, which maintains a particularly fast pace, requires the soloist to play with unending energy and precision.
The world first heard Ravel’s Concerto in G when the composer conducted the world premiere in 1932 with Marguerite Long on the piano.
Also on this program Tuesday night is Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances op. 45. If you do not know these pieces by name, I assure you they are instantly recognizable.
Eun Sun Kim will conduct this concert. For classical music fans it should be noted that this is the final classical music concert of the season at the Hollywood Bowl
For tickets go here.
Photo of Jean-Yves Thibaudet courtesy of the LA Philharmonic Association.