The effervescent French pianist David Fray is trying to explain what makes Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor so endlessly fascinating.
“It starts with one blast from the orchestra – PUM PA PUM!” he roars. “And then,” he says, almost in a whisper, “the piano interrupts, which is surprising. You suddenly have this very melancholic, but passionate theme. It’s not at all traditional. It’s ambiguous. The miracle of Schumann’s piece is that every day you notice different things.”
You wouldn’t put it past Fray to accentuate any newly-discovered nuances when he plays Schumann with the Orchestra Accademia Teatro Alla Scala as part of the Abu Dhabi Classics season on Tuesday. Rising to prominence spectacularly early as a 23 year-old prodigy – his second prize at the Montreal International Music Competition in 2004 quickly leading to a recording contract – Fray has carved a reputation for intense, imaginative and emotional performances over the past decade.
“Honestly, I try to avoid putting my personality too strongly on a piece,” he says. “I’m at the service of the music, not the other way around. But I have to admit that I do have a clear picture of what I want to achieve, which means I have to make choices. Sometimes, that cancels out other interpretations of a piece, which not everyone likes.”
Playful, meditative, expressive. Just some of the adjectives used to describe Fray over the past 10 years as he made his name with a string of spectacular performances of Bach, Schubert and Mozart with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and conductors.
On the other hand, listen to his latest album, Schubert: Fantaisie, and there's a sense of incredible stillness and calm. Fray does admit that he constantly wrestles with pitching the tone just right.
“If people call me playful I must say to them that I take my job very seriously,” he says. “I try to be ‘free’ when I’m playing, within the parameters of the score. I always respect the score, but inside of the piece there should always be different possibilities.”
There are certainly plenty within Schumann’s piano concerto, which even for Fray presented enough challenges for him not to approach it until he was absolutely ready. A technically demanding piece with continual changes in tempo and mood, it mirrored Schumann’s state of mind in the mid 1840s as he battled with lifelong mental-health issues.
“As I get older I love Schumann all the more, but he is difficult,” Fray says. “Such a versatile composer, though, he changes the atmosphere of a piece in a second.”
It’s that search for feeling that drives Fray. When all the various technical, emotional and musical elements electrifyingly come together in a concert, he calls it a “moment of grace” – a special feeling that Fray hopes for but can’t be forced or planned. “You can’t be sure it will happen, even,” he admits. “It depends on a lot of parameters”.
One of those is the atmosphere in the concert hall itself. Fray has never played in the Middle East before, so the concert at the Emirates Palace Auditorium will be a new experience for him.
Does he think UAE audiences will differ from those in more traditional classical-music cities such as New York, Berlin or Paris?
“Honestly, I don’t know, which is why I’m looking forward to it. For me, the goal is simply to convey the universality and humanity of Schumann’s personality, the problems and the triumphs in his life. If I do that well, then hopefully it will move and touch people in Abu Dhabi in the same way it does elsewhere.”
It is interesting, however, that Fray should be joined next week by the Orchestra Accademia Teatro Alla Scala – essentially a Milan-based training ground for young musicians. The nascent classical-music scene in the UAE has unique challenges. But a similar organisation based, say, in Abu Dhabi, would encourage young Emirati musicians, the next Arsha Kaviani, perhaps, to study here rather than abroad.
“It’s so important to have the networks for young musicians,” says Fray. “I had the best teacher I could possibly have in the Paris Conservatoire, and that’s maybe why we have so much good talent in France right now. I’ve worked with the Scala Academy before and I was actually moved by their freshness – you get something different with younger musicians and orchestras. But there are many ways for them to get recognition these days.”
All of which makes Fray – who turns 34 next month – sound like an old hand. But much has changed since that Montreal International Music Competition in 2004. In one click, Fray’s brilliant new album is playing on Spotify. In the accompanying video of him moodily walking through darkened Paris streets, he looks every inch the rock star, all flowing locks and chiselled cheekbones.
“Look, I consider myself a musician, and that’s all,” he says. “My appearance is not something I have to be proud or ashamed of, and believe me as time passes it will change very quickly. The centre of the discussion should always be the music. The rest is noise.”
• David Fray performs with the Orchestra Accademia Teatro Alla Scala, conducted by Mikhail Tatarnikov, as part of Abu Dhabi Classics on April 28 at 8pm, Emirates Palace. In Al Ain on April 29, at 8pm, the orchestra will be conducted by Giuseppe Finzi in a special concert. Tickets cost from Dh30 at www.ticketmaster.ae
artslife@thenational.ae
