Marcelle Meyer
The Marvelous Marcelle Meyer
Marcelle Meyer was, without a doubt, one of the most important pianists of the 20 th century. She was a woman of tremendous influence. The favourite pianist of Les Six, she is featured as the central figure in a portrait of that group and Jean Cocteau by Jacques-Emile Blanche. She played the private premiere of La Valse with Ravel at the other piano, and worked with Debussy himself on his Préludes and gave the first ever all-Debussy recital. When Stravinsky met her, he said, "Ah yes, Ravel spoke to me about you," and she subsequently performed in the premiere of Les Noces, and Petroushka, without rehearsal and completely to the composer's satisfaction. Milhaud and Poulenc were among the many other composers who respected her and with whom she performed. Given her involvement in early 20 th century piano music and her much admired playing, it seems strange that, to date, no biography has been written about this outstanding woman.
My own introduction to Meyer's playing was in a mini-review in Gramophone magazine of her Ravel recordings, re-released on EMI's Références series in the late 80s. The writer was commenting on how Meyer's direct and clean approach was ideally suited to the music of Ravel, given what we know of the composer 's approach from his piano rolls . The just-reissued records were scarce and hard to come by in Canada. I first found her marvelous Chabrier and Rameau recordings and was able to extrapolate that her Ravel would indeed be marvelous. Once I managed to find the Ravel, I was not disappointed. I sent a tape to Harold C. Schonberg, author of "The Great Pianists." Although he had never heard of Meyer, he was thrilled by her "clear, elegant playing", as well the liquid-toned piano she played (a Pleyel piano).
In 1989 EMI issued a previously unpublished recording of Meyer playing the Debussy Préludes - as a 'gift' for customers purchasing any 3 Références CDs - at that time available only in Europe. I was keen to obtain a copy and my efforts to find an overseas store with international shipping were worth the effort and expense. It is a magical recording and one wonders why it was kept under lock and key for so many years. Over the next few years, EMI released a total of 15 Marcelle Meyer CDs in 3 volumes. I was hooked.
And I am not alone, it would appear. Today, Meyer's original records for Les Discophiles Francais fetch hundreds of dollars on e-bay. And yet she does not quite have the legendary status that a woman with her accomplishments and historical importance would deserve. Her recordings have been reissued on the French EMI's "Introuvables" and "Rarissimes" series rather than the international "The Great Recordings of the Century" series.
The French label Tahra recently took on the enterprising task of releasing a disc of previously unpublished Meyer recordings, half of which complement her commercial discography. At long last we have a taste of Marcelle Meyer "live." While the CD is relatively short at just under an hour, it is of tremendous artistic importance and features some enlightening reminiscences by Meyer's daughter, presently living in Rome.
The disc opens with an undated performance of Chopin's Barcarolle from the French radio archives (the date has, since publication, been identified as December 28, 1957). I am unaware of any other Chopin items in Meyer's discography, and yet this seems to be a style for which she was well suited. Although she does not produce the gigantic sound of the 19th-century Romantic pianists, her fluid phrasing and filigree finger work serve Chopin's idiom well, as does her typically direct delivery with a slightly teasing rubato. This combination of directness and hesitation seems indicative of the 'paradoxical' nature to which her daughter refers.
The Debussy "Images," an RAI radio performance from 1957, is similar to her earlier official recording (also in 1957), which remained unreleased until 1992. I have heard no other pianist produce that liquid a sound in Reflets dans L'eau; indeed, all of Meyer's 'water' performances on disc - Ondine, Jeux d'eau, Une Barque sur L'ocean - have unparalleled sheen and fluidity. While the sound quality in this performance is somewhat more restrictive than in the commercial recording, it is nevertheless enticing. Meyer's playing remains captivating with its simplicity and luscious tone.
The masterpiece of the disc is a live performance of De Falla's Nights in the Gardens of Spain, recorded 6 months before her sudden and premature death of a heart attack at the age of 61 in 1958. Despite some slightly shaky playing in the RAI Orchestra under Mario Rossi (mostly upper strings and brass - the lower strings provide marvelous support), there is certainly enough magic in her playing and moments of piano-orchestra dialogue to render this a benchmark performance. Meyer's temperament was ideally suited to the smoldering sensuality of this work. Some of the tempi are expansive to say the least, particularly the last section of the work: her long phrasing and beautifully articulated trills are so evocative as to make time stand still. One can truly sense the passionate atmosphere of hot Spanish nights, at once sultry, seductive, and suggestive.
According to her daughter, Meyer never spoke of being a representative of a particular tradition of playing. Nevertheless, she was a direct and profound link to a vitally important period of musical history. Her studies with Ricardo Vines - the preferred pianist of Debussy, Ravel, and De Falla - are most noticeable and profound in her playing. Listening to Vines' own few records, one hears that directness, clear phrasing, and textured voicing that characterize Meyer's performances of French and Spanish music. They both had an approach to timing and voicing that highlights the sensual nature of such works - a delicately teasing pull without distorting the line, a sensual undertone played with disarming directness.
Even when Meyer played mere single-note melodies, her accents hinted at the suggestive moves of Spanish dancers and at the rhythms and harmonic overtones of Spanish guitar music. She understood that what was written could only hint at the inherent natural rhythms of the music, and had a way of doing justice to the printed page while delving deeper into the spirit of such lively music than a literalist could ever hope to accomplish.
A number of other live Marcelle Meyer recordings exist, among them a Beethoven Emperor Concerto and Spring Sonata, some works by Chabrier, and Oscar Espla's Sonata Del Sur conducted by Manuel Rosenthal. The first Tahra disc was to have included a performance of the Rieti Piano Concerto #3 but the sound was reportedly too poor for release; it is hoped that another source or performance can be found. I have heard a live 1930s recording of the Ravel G Major Concerto, the mere thought of which makes my hair stand on end; regrettably, this recording may be unobtainable for release.
EMI is currently re-releasing some of her recordings in their Rarissimes series. Another performance of the Espla Sonata Del Sur, conducted by the composer, is available only on a Spanish EMI set - let us hope it receives an international release. It is also to be hoped that the items that were incorrectly pitched in their earlier Introuvables incarnations will be corrected, and that the tapes will be newly remastered. Tahra too has plans for further discs of Meyer towards the end of the year. If subsequent volumes are as magnificent as their first, the pianophiles of the world will owe them dearly. Marcelle Meyer was definitely a pianist worthy of such respect.[ back to top ]
