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Para escribir la entrevista, este reportero tiene en mente otras manos más pecaminosas. Se ha subido a una escalera para, de encima de una estantería, bajar un archivador con libros descatalogados, cubiertos de polvo y donosas manos: Antología, de Emilio Prados; Mujer de verso en pecho, de Gloria Fuertes; El Estado y la Revolución, de Lenin; El Romancero del Ejército Popular; La poesía española, entre pureza y revolución (1930-1936), de Juan Cano Ballesta; Poesía y revolución, de Vladimir Maiakovsky; Libertad bajo palabra, de Octavio Paz; El poeta en la calle, de Rafael Alberti, y El hombre y el trabajo, de Arturo Serrano Plaja. Este reportero repasa el índice de El hombre y el trabajo, y halla el poema anhelado: “Estos son los oficios”, sobre la salacidad en las profesiones artesanales (carpintero, carbonero, pescador…): “Al dolor no se le canta, se le sufre y nada más”. Read More

Sixth International Festival of Symphonic Music in Algeria. By Sihem Bounabi

In intense harmony, the first musicians to seduce the public are the members of the Swiss duo, (Katia Michel, piano and Peter Schmidt, cello). From the firsts notes, the tempo in Gabriel Fauré’s “Romance” was set, so that it was like an exalted ballad.

The quietly powerful notes of the piano, blending with the deep tones of the violoncello, took the public into a musical universe where romance is an ode to voluptuousness and to contemplation. The duo then continued in this same universe with a masterful interpretation of the “Six Songs” of Johannes Brahms, for which they received much applause. (…)

SPRINGTIME CONCERT SERIES. Katia Michel, piano. The last three sonatas by Schubert. MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM OF CERVERA. MARCH 23, 2014. By Santi Riu

(…) The three last sonatas for piano by Franz Schubert were written in the last months of the composer’s life. They are mature works, imbued with emotion and nostalgia, passion and intimacy, melancholy and acceptance. Connected in a cyclical way through structural, harmonic and melodic elements, they can be considered a trilogy. It is not often that one hears them all together on a concert program, because of the demands made not only on the performer but also on the listeners – the complete program is quite long, each sonata lasting more than thirty minutes – but when played together the three pieces are delightful to hear.

More intimate than Beethoven and yet imbued with a Mozartian rhythmical pulse, Schubert demands a reflective performer, capable of bringing out the lyrical beauty as well as the most intimate melancholy. The sonata in C minor, D. 958, begins with the impulse of ominous fortissimos, seemingly influenced by Beethoven; then comes an unsettlingly quiet section that is distinguished by a feeling of darkness and anguish. In the “Adagio”, Katia Michel invoked a reflective character, in an atmosphere that can still be deeper, with a vivid sense of approaching danger. The sonata ends with an “Allegro” of overflowing vigor (…) Katia Michel presented the musical suspense and the drama to perfection.

The sonata in B-flat Major, D.960, is the favorite of many people. This is easy to understand: Schubert’s bare soul appears before us in this sonata. It starts with a faintly lyrical theme that slowly assumes a more dramatic character and that is somehow disquieting. Katia Michel brought out the touching melancholy that flows through this movement in a subtle, profound and poetic way. (…)

Duo pulls all the stops for expressiveness.

(…) The back-and-forth between lyrical and energetic themes in the first movement was excitingly done, full of contrasts, and – considering the virtuosity required – taking care to clarify not only the details but also the piece itself. The balance between the two musicians was perfect; the focus was on expression (…) Each duo-partner pulled all of the stops for expression and they worked together as if they were one, luxuriating in cantilenas and gentle songs, with passages of great virtuosity.

A demanding program that showcased a whole range of interpretive ressources and the use of the whole palette of possible nuances while at the same time not losing sight of the overarching refinement and elegance. This is an area that Katia Michel assumes most naturally and with genuine brilliance; two concepts that rarely coincide. Where Mompou said that the strong need not be forced nor the weak feeble, we would add that the energetic need not be pushed beyond the limit, as Katia Michel showed with mastery. For these reasons, her interpretations -especially those of small form- convey a very special ambience that is very much hers, full of artistry and genuine creativity.