I Am That Which Is - Marie François

In this speakeasy of a piano recital, Marie François pours out for Beethoven, Cage, Pärt and Goebajdoelina Beethoven as a mystic: not the first thing you think of with the romantic iconoclast. The proverbs from the Old Egyptische Saïs tradition that he kept on his desk already hint at a deep fascination for the essential and the absolute. Marie François portrays Beethoven’s philosophical side with sonata opus 109, which surprisingly resonates with Janáček’s misty melodies, Gubaidulina’s ritual chaconne, Cage’s meditative silence and Pärt’s languorous ‘Für Alina’. Corigliano’s fantasy on a Beethoven ostinato firmly nails the bridge between present and past.