Yves Nat made most of his recordings near the end of his life, after he had been diagnosed with a fatal disease, long after he had ended his concert career. Knowing these factors, you might hope to hear some superb interpretations even if the pianist’s technique may be compromised. The surprise is that Nat’s playing on most of his recordings is so immensely powerful.
Biographical information on Yves Nat isn’t easy to come by, and EMI hasn’t made life easier by assigning the program notes for Nat to Andre Tubeuf, that antagonist of solid information whose blathery writing disfigures so many of the label’s French-produced reissues. He was born in 1890 and taught at the Paris Conservatory for many years, where among his students were the wonderful Reine Gianoli and the Bach-jazzifier Jacques Loussier. He also made a few 78 rpm recordings in France from 1929 on. Nat stopped playing in public with the coming of World War II.
I have never been able to verify the legend about the resumption of Nat’s recording career from print sources. The story is that, in 1953, Nat was diagnosed with cancer, and that simultaneously he was approached by the label Les Discophiles Francais with a request to start an extensive recording program. Whatever the true story, between 1953 and Nat’s death from a heart attack in 1956, he recorded all of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas, most of Schumann’s major piano works, and LPs devoted to Chopin and Brahms. Some of these recordings were also issued in the U.S. by Haydn Society.
Nat’s late performances are sometimes direct to the point of bluntness. His playing is as strong technically as it is musically–uninhibited Beethoven, in particular, with the kind of musical force one imagines the composer’s own performances had. With the aid of the great French recording engineer Andre Charlin, Nat’s playing survives half a century with little loss of its immediacy, and if he had any difficulties with such monstrous challenges as the “Hammerklavier” Sonata or the central march of Schumann’s Fantaisie in C Major, the engineer’s wizardry has removed them completely. I personally wouldn’t want to be without a note of Nat’s playing, but in particular his Beethoven cycle can stand comparison with any ever recorded, offering a unique viewpoint. Hearing it without identification, I would never take Nat’s for the playing of a French pianist.
Fortunately, EMI has preserved Nat’s legacy nearly complete on CD. The one item which remains elusive is Nat’s own Piano Concerto, taken from a French broadcast and issued as a memorial to him on Erato LDE 3187 (LP only). Now that Erato is in the process of being dissolved, we can hardly expect this work to reappear on CD. Judging from the one small intriguing example of Nat’s own music on recording (a Pathe 78 on EMI’s miscellaneous set), his works might well be worth hearing.
Leslie Gerber
Source : http://www.lesliegerber.net/writing/articles/pianists-that-time-forgot/
Yves Nat
Ses Enregistrements
(1930-1956)
Tracks
Cd. 1
Ludwig van Beethoven
(1770-1827)
1 32 Variations on an original theme in C Minor, WoO 80 9:39
Piano Sonata n° 1 in F minor, Op. 2 n° 1
2 I. Allegro 4:33
3 II. Adagio 4:41
4 III. Menuetto (Allegretto) 3:02
5 IV. Prestissimo 5:23
Piano Sonata n° 2 in A major, Op. 2 n° 2
6 I. Allegro vivace 5:32
7 II. Largo appassionato 7:02
8 III. Scherzo (Allegretto) 3:17
9 IV. Rondo (Grazioso) 6:30
Piano Sonata n° 3 in C major, Op. 2 n° 3
10 I. Allegro con brio 7:40
11 II. Adagio 7:09
12 III. Scherzo (Allegro) 2:46
13 IV. Allegro assai 5:14
*
Cd. 2
Piano Sonata n° 4 in E-Flat major, Op. 7
1 I. Allegro molto e con brio 7:49
2 II. Largo, con gran espressione 6:54
3 III. Allegro 5:16
4 IV. Rondo. Poco allegretto e grazioso 6:20
Piano Sonata n° 5 in C minor, Op. 10 n° 1
5 I. Allegro molto e con brio 6:14
6 II. Adagio molto 6:12
7 III. Finale (Prestissimo) 4:10
Piano Sonata n° 6 in F major, Op. 10 n° 2
8 I. Allegro 5:10
9 II. Allegretto 3:19
10 III. Presto 2:11
Piano Sonata n° 7 in D major, Op. 10 n° 3
11 I. Presto 6:49
12 II. Largo e mesto 7:07
13 III. Menuetto (Allegro) 2:40
14 IV. Rondo (Allegretto) 4:09
*
Cd. 3
Piano Sonata n° 8 in C minor, Op.13
"Pathétique"
1 I. Grave - Allegro di molto e con brio 6:32
2 II. Adagio cantabile 5:01
3 III. Rondo (Allegro) 4:11
Piano Sonata n° 9 in E major, Op. 14 n° 1
4 I. Allegro 6:00
5 II. Allegretto 2:50
6 III. Rondo (Allegro commodo) 3:15
Piano Sonata n° 10 in G major, Op. 14 n° 2
7 I. Allegro 6:02
8 II. Andante 4:51
9 III. Scherzo (Allegro assai) 3:14
Piano Sonata n° 11 in B-Flat, Op. 22
10 I. Allegro con brio 7:35
11 II. Adagio con molto espressione 7:37
12 III. Menuetto 2:58
13 IV. Rondo. (Allegretto) 5:44
*
Cd. 4
Piano Sonata n° 12 in A-Flat major, Op. 26
1 I. Andante con variazioni 7:10
2 II. Scherzo (Allegro molto) 2:48
3 III. Marcia funebre sulla morte d'un Eroe 5:22
4 IV. Allegro 2:51
Piano Sonata n° 13 in E-Flat major, Op. 27 n° 1
5 I. Andante - Allegro - Tempo I - attaca 3:52
6 II. Allegro molto e vivace - attaca 2:08
7 III. Adagio con espressione - attaca 2:24
8 IV. Allegro vivace 4:55
Piano Sonata n° 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27 n° 2
"Moonlight"
9 I. Adagio sostenuto - attaca 5:22
10 II. Allegretto - attaca 1:52
11 III. Presto agitato 5:42
Piano Sonata n° 15 in D major, Op.28
"Pastorale"
12 I. Allegro 10:40
13 II. Andante 5:52
14 III. Scherzo (Allegro vivace) 2:15
15 IV. Rondo (Allegro ma non troppo) 4:19
*
Cd. 5
Piano Sonata n° 16 in G major, Op. 31 n° 1
1 I. Allegro vivace 6:07
2 II. Adagio grazioso 10:06
3 III. Rondo (Allegretto) 5:54
Piano Sonata n° 17 in D minor, Op.31 n° 2
"The Tempest"
4 I. Largo - Allegro 7:47
5 II. Adagio 7:03
6 III. Allegretto 6:34
Piano Sonata n° 18 in E-Flat major, Op. 31 n° 3
7 I. Allegro 7:55
8 II. Scherzo (Allegretto vivace) 4:55
9 III. Menuetto (Moderato e grazioso) 3:21
10 IV. Presto con fuoco 4:15
Piano Sonata n° 19 in G minor, Op. 49 n° 1
1 I. Andante 3:28
2 II. Rondo (Allegro) 3:04
*
Cd. 6
Piano Sonata n° 20 in G major, Op. 49 n° 2
1 I. Allegro, ma non troppo 4:11
2 II. Tempo di Menuetto 2:37
Piano Sonata n° 21 in C major, Op. 53
"Waldstein"
3 I. Allegro con brio 9:47
4 II. Introduzione (Adagio molto - attacca) 3:01
5 III. Rondo (Allegretto moderato) 9:32
Piano Sonata n° 22 in F major, Op. 54
6 I. In tempo d'un Menuetto 4:18
7 II. Allegretto 3:40
Piano Sonata n° 23 in F minor, Op. 57
"Appassionata"
8 I. Allegro assai 8:54
9 II. Andante con moto - attacca 5:51
10 III. Allegro ma non troppo - Presto 5:07
Piano Sonata n° 24 in F-Sharp major, Op. 78
11 I. Adagio cantabile - Allegro, ma non troppo 4:37
12 II. Allegro vivace 2:44
Piano Sonata n° 25 in G major, Op. 79
13 I. Presto alla tedesca 3:09
14 II. Andante 2:42
15 III. Vivace 1:42
*
Cd. 7
Piano Sonata n° 26 in E-Flat major, Op. 81a
"Les Adieux"
1 I. Les Adieux (Adagio - Allegro) 6:31
2 II. L'Absence (Andante espressivo) 3:18
3 III. Le Retour (Vivacissimamente) 4:17
Piano Sonata n° 27 in E minor, Op. 90
4 I. Con vivacità e sempre e con sentimento ed espressione 5:34
5 II. Non troppo vivo e cantabile 5:56
Piano Sonata n° 29 in B-Flat major, Op.106
"Grosse Sonate für das Hammerklavier"
6 I. Allegro 10:27
7 II. Scherzo (Assai vivace) 2:38
8 III. Adagio sostenuto (Appassionato e con molto sentimento) 16:16
9 IV. Largo - Allegro risoluto (fuge a tre voci) 11:30
*
Cd. 8
Piano Sonata n° 28 in A major, Op. 101
1 I. Allegretto ma non troppo 3:11
2 II. Vivace alla marcia 5:06
3 III. Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto 2:16
4 IV. Allegro 5:30
Piano Sonata n° 30 in E major, Op. 109
5 I. Vivace, ma non troppo 3:05
6 II. Prestissimo 2:19
7 III. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo (tema con variazioni) 10:56
Piano Sonata n° 31 in A-Flat major, Op. 110
8 I. Moderato cantabile molto espressivo 5:27
9 II. Allegro molto 2:05
10 III. Arioso (adagio ma non troppo) - Fuga (allegro, ma non troppo) - 8:51
Tempo del'arioso - Tempo della fuga - Coda
Piano Sonata n° 32 in C minor, Op. 111
11 I. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato 6:21
12 II. Arietta (adagio molto semplice e cantabile) 14:03
*
Cd. 9
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)
Moments Musicaux, D. 780
1 N° 1 in C major (Moderato) 4:38
2 N° 2 in A-Flat major (Andantino) 6:10
3 N° 3 in F minor (Allegro moderato) 1:39
4 N° 4 in C-Sharp minor (Moderato) 4:04
5 N° 5 in F minor (Allegro vivace) 1:24
6 N° 6 in A-Flat major (Allegretto) 6:59
Frédéric Chopin
(1810-1849)
Piano Sonata n° 2 in B-Flat minor, Op. 35
7 I. Grave - Doppio movimento 4:52
8 II. Scherzo 5:55
9 III. Marche funèbre 7:54
10 IV. Finale (presto) 1:15
11 Fantasie in F minor,A-Flat major, Op. 49 11:49
12 Barcarolle in F-Sharp major, Op. 60 8:03
13 Waltz n° 14 in E minor, KK IVa,15 (Op. Posth.) 1:29
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
2 Rhapsodies, Op. 79
14 N° 1 in B minor (Agitato) 6:27
15 N° 2 in G minor (Molto passionato, ma non-troppo allegro) 5:41
*
Cd. 10
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
1 Variations & Fugue in B flat major on a Theme of Handel, Op. 24 23:12
3 Intermezzi, Op. 117
2 N° 1 in E-Flat major (Andante moderato) 3:58
3 N° 2 in B-Flat major (Andante non troppo e con molto espressione) 3:36
4 N° 3 in C-Sharp minor (Andante con moto) 5:03
Robert Schumann
(1810-1856)
Kreisleriana, Op. 16
5 N° 1 in D Minor (Äußerst bewegt) 2:41
6 N° 2 In B-Flat Major (Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch) 6:55
7 N° 3 in G Minor (Sehr aufgeregt) 4:31
8 N° 4 in B-Flat Major/D Minor (Sehr langsam) 3:07
9 N °5 in G Minor (Sehr lebhaft) 2:51
10 N° 6 in B-Flat Major (Sehr langsam) 3:39
11 N° 7 in C Minor/E-Flat MAjor (Sehr rasch) 1:56
12 N° 8 in G Minor (Schnell und spielend) 3:15
3 Romances, Op. 28
13 N° 1 in B-Flat major (Sehr markiert) 4:03
14 N° 2 in F-Sharp minor (Einfach) 3:39
15 N° 3 in B major (Sehr markiert) 5:53
*
Cd. 11
Robert Schumann
(1810-1856)
1 Toccata in C major, Op. 7 (Allegro) 5:44
Fantasiestücke, Op. 12
2 Des Abends (Sehr innig zu spielen) 3:45
3 Aufschwung (Sehr rasch) 3:07
4 Warum ? (Langsam und zart) 2:20
5 Grillen (Mit Humor) 2:54
6 In der Nacht (Mit Leidenschaft) 3:57
7 Fabel (Langsam) 2:53
8 Traumeswirren (Äußerst lebhaft) 2:25
9 Ende vom Lied (Mit gutem Humor) 4:33
8 Noveletten, Op. 21
10 N° 1 in F major (Markiert und kräftig) 4:59
11 N° 2 in D major (Äusserst rasch und mit Bravour) 6:00
12 N° 3 in D major (Leicht und mit Humor) 4:15
13 N° 4 in D major (Ballmässig, sehr munter) 3:18
14 N° 5 in D major (Rauschend und festlich) 8:16
15 N° 6 in A major (Sehr lebhaft, mit vielem Humor) 4:5
16 N° 7 in E major (Äusserst rasch) 3:08
17 N° 8 in F-Sharp minor Sehr lebhaft) 10:11
*
Cd. 12
Robert Schumann
(1810-1856)
Fantasie in C major, Op. 17
1 I. Durchaus phantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen 11:42
2 II. Mässig - Durchaus energisch 7:08
3 III. Langsam getragen - Durchweg leise zu halten 9:53
4 Humoreske in B-Flat major, Op. 20 24:09
Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13
5 Tema (Andante) 1:31
6 Etude I (Variation 1). Un poco più vivo 1:12
7 Etude II (Variation 2). Andante 3:18
8 Etude III. Vivace 1:19
9 Etude IV (Variation 3). Allegro marcato 1:00
10 Etude V (Variation 4). Scherzando 0:59
11 Etude VI (Variation 5). Agitato 0:57
12 Etude VII (Variation 6). Allegro molto 0:50
13 Etude VIII (Variation 7). Sempre marcatissimo 1:44
14 Etude IX. Presto possibile 0:40
15 Etude X (Variation 8). Allegro con energia 1:22
16 Etude XI (Variation 9). Andante espressivo 2:32
17 Etude XII (Finale). Allegro brillante 5:47
(based on Marschner's theme)
*
Cd. 13
Robert Schumann
(1810-1856)
1 Papillons, Op. 2 12:49
2 Arabeske in C major, Op. 18 (Leicht und zart) 4:53
3 Kinderszenen, Op. 15 [rec. 1952] 16:01
Faschingsschwank aus Wien ('Phantasiebilder'), Op. 26
4 Allegro, in B-Flat major (Sehr Lebhaft) 8:06
5 Romanze, in G minor (Ziemlich Langsam) 2:11
6 Scherzino, in B-Flat major 1:56
7 Intermezzo, in E-Flat minor (Mit Größter Energie) 2:09
8 Finale, in B-Flat major (Höchst Lebhaft) 4:26
8 Fantasiestücke, Op. 12
(excerpts)
9 Des Abends (Sehr innig zu spielen) 3:48
10 Aufschwung (Sehr rasch) 3:02
11 Warum ? (Langsam und zart) 1:36
12 Kinderszenen, Op. 15 [rec. 1930] 12:00
*
Cd. 14
Robert Schumann
(1810-1856)
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
1 I. Allegro affetuoso 14:50
2 II. Intermezzo (andante grazioso) 4:36
3 III. Allegro vivace 10:10
César Franck
(1822-1890)
4 Variations symphoniques, M. 46 14:49
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
5 Intermezzo in B-Flat minor, Op. 117 n° 2 4:03
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)
6 Hungarian Rhapsody n° 2 (the 'original' n° 2) in C-Sharp minor (I & II), S. 244 n° 2 8:36
Igor Stravinsky
(1882-1971)
Dance russe (from Petrushka) 2:21
*
Cd. 15
1 Interview [I] - Présentation des Nouvelles musicales par Daniel-Lesur 0:31
2 Interview [I] - Yves Nat parle de son Concerto pour piano 8:24
Yves Nat
(1890-1956)
Piano Concerto
3 I. Allegro molto quasi presto 7:05
4 II. Andante 4:58
5 III. Intermezzo 2:40
6 IV. Vivo 4:58
7 Pour un petit moujik 3:01
Cinq Mélodies pour voix & Piano
8 Dans vos viviers, dans vos étangs (Apollinaire) 0:50
9 Chanson pour un officier de marine (Briant) 1:13
10 Chanson de la nageuse nue (Briant) 0:57
11 Que lentement passent les heures (Apollinaire) 0:58
12 L'Enfant à la poule aux œufs d'or (Nat) 1:46
*
Yes Nat - p
Orchestre Symphonique/Eugène Bigot - dir. [Cd. 14, # 1-3]
Orchestre des Concerts Perné/Gaston Poulet - dir. [Cd. 14, # 4]
Irène Joachim - spr [Cd. 15, # 8-12]
Orchestre National de la Radio-diffusion Française/Pierre Dervaux - dir. [Cd. 15, # 3-6]
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire/Charles Munch - dir. [# Cd. 15, # 11-12]
Recorded between February 12, 1929 & 1956
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