Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) 

Piano Sonata in B flat K333 (1783-4)

I. Allegro • II. Andante cantabile •

III. Allegretto grazioso

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) 

Reflets dans l’eau from Images, Series 1 (1901-5)

Clair de lune from Suite bergamasque (c.1890, rev. 1905)

Gabriel Dupont (1878-1914) 

Après-midi de dimanche from Les heures dolentes (1905)

(1905) From Le rossignol é perdu (1902-10)

Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947)  fron Le rossignol é perdu (1902-10)

Hivernale • Le banc songeur

Charles Koechlin (1867-1950) 

Chant de pêcheurs from Paysages et marines Op. 63

(1915-6)

Florent Schmitt (1870-1958) 

Glas from Musiques intimes, Book 2 Op. 29 (1989-1904)

A return to the Wigmore Hall for Anne Quéffélec who I remember from the first Leeds competition, who together with Imogen Cooper were two remarkable musicians amongst a world of virtuosi seeking fame and fortune with the multitude of notes that they could spin in record time .Two remarkable French trained musicians ( with a much criticised Martin Cooper for sending his daughter abroad to study)

But later both coming under the spell of the musical genius of Alfred Brendel .

Never compromising their art they have created a following of a discerning public too often deprived of the humility and dedication of servants to their creator. Deprived and not depraved they flock to their concerts to have their souls uplifted and their spirits enriched.

Not for them the note spinning brilliance of the Russian School but a search for truth ,where quality is more important than quantity.

Imogen and Anne formed a piano duo together with many refined performances of Schubert,Schumann and Mozart.

It was just this that came across today as Anne’s playing rarely rose above mezzo forte but her sense of architectural balance and ravishing palette of sounds brought us a whole world with refined good taste, and where the art of conversation is still alive, as she allows the music to speak better than words ever could.

Mozart Sonata K.333 was played with a luminosity and beauty of sound ,one phrase answering the other, in a civilised conversation of the age of enlightenment. A ‘Sturm und Drang’ of its time with a perfect sense of equilibrium and balance, of an age when feelings were contained in a restrained courtly manner ,but within the notes, there was just as much passion and excitement as was to be shortly demonstrated, as Beethoven took over the reigns from his teacher Haydn. Exquisite playing, but not like a porcelain doll, but of the operatic characters that Mozart could so vividly describe on stage.This was a stage as the curtain opened and Anne allowed Mozart’s characters to relive in her ten sensitive fingers.

After barely whispered and ravishing playing of French music from the well known ‘Reflets dans l’eau’ and ‘Claire de lune’ by Debussy to the more eclectic names such as Dupont,Hayn,Koechlin,Schmitt she gave the final word to God.

The Siciliano from the Flute Sonata n. 2 BWV 1031 by Bach in the transcription of Wilhelm Kempff. Peace and beauty returned to a world in turmoil in a magical seance where Anne just closed the piano lid at the end of the Bach – In the beginning is our end – Q.E.D.

Anne Quéffélec, one of the most remarkable pianists of our time, enjoys international fame as well as an exceptional influence over musical life.
Widely acclaimed in Europe, Japan, Hong-Kong, Canada, the United States… she has been invited by the most prestigious orchestras – the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Zurich Tonhalle, Orchestre de chambre de Lausanne, Tokyo NHK Orchestra, Ensemble Kanazawa, Hong-Kong Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Strasbourg, Lille, Prague Philharmonia, Kremerata Baltica, Sinfonia Varsovia… – and performed under the batons of illustrious conductors such as Boulez, Gardiner, Jordan, Zinman, Eschenbach, Conlon, Langrée, Belohlavek, Skrowacewsky, Casadesus, Lombard, Guschlbauer, Zecchi, Foster, Holliger, Janowski, etc.

Named “Best performer of the year” at the 1990 French Classical Music Awards (Victoires de la Musique), Anne Queffélec has played repeatedly at the Proms in London, at the Bath, Swansea, King’s Lynn, Cheltenham festivals and Händel-Festspiele Göttingen; she also regularly appears in French festivals such as La Chaise-Dieu, Radio France Montpellier, Besançon, Bordeaux, Dijon, La Grange de Meslay, La Folle Journée de Nantes, La Roque d’Anthéron where she performed, among others, the complete piano sonatas by Mozart over six recitals broadcasted live by France Musique, confirming her deep affinity for the Mozartian world. In the 1980s, Anne Queffélec has participated in the recording of the soundtrack for the film of Amadeus, under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner. On stage and in recordings as well, Anne Queffélec displays an eclectic repertoire. This is reflected by a variegated discography: she has more than forty records to her credit, dedicated to Scarlatti, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, Bach, Debussy, Fauré, Mendelssohn, Satie, including the complete works by Ravel, Dutilleux, Mozart, Beethoven, Haendel and Haydn. Those recordings were released by Erato, Virgin Classics and Mirare respectively.

Among her more recent releases features the album « Satie & Compagnie » (Mirare – 2013) which was awarded the “Diapason d’Or” of the year. Next come a double CD entitled “Ravel, Debussy, Fauré” (Erato – 2014), “Ombre et Lumière” (“Light and Shade”) dedicated to Domenico Scarlatti (Mirare – 2015), both receiving the “Diapason d’Or” award, including “Entrez dans la danse” (“Join in the dance”) (Mirare – 2017). In 2016 the BBC Magazine celebrated Anne Queffélec by releasing several live recordings and the Diapason magazine picked her version of Ravel’s Concerto in g major to feature it in the section “Les Indispensables”. In January 2019, Warner/Erato released a 21-CDs series dedicated to works recorded by Anne Queffélec for this label.
“Anne Queffélec: the discovery of a true self” Münchener Zeitung