Recently, on our own Klassiek-Centraal website, there was an announcement for "Averbode Klassiek. Chamber music in the abbey of Averbode". Now there are several abbeys with such a classical program. Earlier we already discussed "Klassiek in de Abdij" in the abbey of Dieleghem in Jette or rather in its abbot's residence, as that is all that remains of that former abbey. Those are afternoon concerts. In Averbode there are also evening concerts and more, you could order a total package WITH weekend stay in that majestic abbey with board and lodging. We thought, let's go listen sometime. And to top it off, you could experience a "musical" extra by participating in the canonical hours of the Norbertine fathers, the lauds, a Gregorian mass and the vespers.
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Florestan Bataillie © Roger Creyf[/caption]
The star of the evening concert was the young pianist, 30 years old, Florestan Bataillie. He told how his musical training actually began at the music camps of Jeugd en muziek. But he also took lessons from the acclaimed Jan Michiels at the Brussels Conservatorium and now teaches himself. What was surprising in this concert was that he not only played works by his beloved composers but also his own compositions. And those inspirations are, besides the French impressionists, especially the American Philip Glass and the Frenchman Erik Satie. But first we heard original work by this pianist-composer. These were pieces from his first solo album "Repeat". And yes, how could it be otherwise, you hear that repetitive and minimalist sound world of Glass throughout it. You can certainly call it indebted to that minimalist, but there is also a clear personal profile when you hear him play his "Last Night". Composed during lockdown and therefore sometimes sad, because so much could not happen and sometimes full of hope, looking forward to the moment when the pandemic would be over. "Morning coffee" is a cheerful ode to his beloved morning drink, the 'doppio espresso'. Equally relaxing is his "Summervibes", and this at a temperature of around thirty degrees! He does this by plucking the piano with his left hand while with his right he blocks two strings and thus muffles the sound of two notes. He also wrote a number of "Etudes", as so many pianist-composers did. But again here that playfulness: they are 'études' to practice thumb work, which is no joke at all for beginning pianists. It is refreshing not to have to listen only to classical 'repertoire pieces' at a concert. Yet that familiar "Gnossienne nr.1" by Erik Satie came. 'Musique d'ameublement' he said himself. And our pianist-composer added his own piece to it 'in the style of Satie'. It all sounded beautifully played on that completely restored but 100-year-old Steinway. Florestan Bataillie played 'Wichita Vortex Sutra' by Philip Glass, music that Glass wrote to accompany Allen Ginsberg's anti-war poem at the time of the Vietnam War. Bataillie composed his own protest against another, contemporary war, the one in Ukraine: "Shattered". So much lies there in 'fragments' and you hear it in the dissonances in this impressive piece of music written in 2022. Florestan Bataillie himself linked that entire program together as an accomplished entertainer-performer.
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I TRio (from left to right) Alice Van Leuven, Olsi Leka, Diede Verpoest © Roger Creyf[/caption]
On Sunday afternoon we could still listen to a fairly new ensemble "I trio", the trio! With three musical pieces by three composers. String trios, it is a rarely performed genre. We heard the young passionate violinist Alice Van Leuven, the mature and distinguished viola player Diede Verpoest and the cello professional Olsi Leka. They played a beautiful but unfinished string trio by a young Schubert and a very Mozartian serenade by Beethoven from 1797. But especially the string trio by the Frenchman Jean Cras was a discovery. Moreover in several respects. The man, a 19th-century Breton, is almost forgotten as a composer because he was actually a captain and naval officer in the French army, Alice Van Leuven told us in her introduction. Much of his work he wrote at sea and that other French composer Henri Duparc was his best friend. That string trio begins as if you were sitting on a steamboat and all the other parts sound equally original and often lively with lots of pizzicato for all instruments. A worthy end to the fourth edition of this Averbode Klassiek festival, which was spread over two weekends. Next year again and on the flyer the organizers write: "Spread the news". Let's do it!
WHAT: Florestan Bataillie, original work, Erik Satie, Gnossienne nr. 1, Philip Glass, Wichita Vortex Sutra, Franz Schubert, String Trio D471, Ludwig van Beethoven, Serenade op.8, Jean Cras, string trio.
WHO: Florestan Bataillie, pianist-composer, Alice Van Leuven, violin; Diede Verpoest, viola, Olsi Leka, cello.
WHERE: concert hall abbey Averbode
WHEN: Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 June 2023