French-American Piano Society

in partnership with

THE CONSULATE OF FRANCE IN NEW YORK

and

SOFITEL NEW YORK

present

Anne Queffélec, Piano

“Promenade dans un jardin a la française”

2025 Spring Benefit Recital

TUESDAY, APRIL 8 2025 AT 6:30 PM

CONSULATE OF FRANCE IN NEW YORK

PROGRAM

Anne Queffélec, Piano

Performing on the James E. Sheeran Steinway Piano

W.A. Mozart (1756–1791)

Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333

Promenade dans un jardin musical à la française

Claude Debussy (1862–1918)

Reflets dans l'eau (Images, No. 1, Premier Cahier)

Clair de lune (extrait de la Suite Bergamasque)

Gabriel Dupont (1878–1914)

Après-midi de dimanche (No. 5, extrait des Heures Dolentes)

Reynaldo Hahn (1874–1947)

Hivernale

Le Banc Songeur (extraits de Le Rossignol éperdu)

Charles Koechlin (1867–1950)

Chant de pêcheurs (Op. 63 No. 10, extrait de Paysages et Marines)

Florent Schmitt (1870–1958)

Glas (No. 6, extrait de Musiques Intimes)

Recital Story

An Evening of Light and Shadow: From Mozart to the French Musical Garden

There are some recitals that transport us beyond the concert hall, into a world woven with elegance, mystery, and poetic reverie. This evening, we embark on such a journey with the incomparable Anne Queffélec, whose artistry is renowned for its luminous clarity and profound sensitivity. With her touch, the piano becomes an intimate storyteller, unveiling the delicate intricacies of sound and silence alike.

The recital opens with Mozart’s Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 333, a masterpiece of Classical refinement and joyful inventiveness. Like a playful dialogue between light and shade, its themes dance with exquisite balance, leading us through an emotional landscape that feels both spontaneous and deeply human.

Following this luminous prelude, we step into the enchanted pathways of a "Promenade dans un jardin musical à la française." A curated selection of French piano works, this segment evokes the ethereal beauty of water, the wistful passage of time, and the poetic solitude of winter landscapes.

Debussy’s Reflets dans l’eau, from Images, shimmers like ripples on a pond, capturing light’s ever-shifting play on water. His beloved Clair de lune, a dreamlike reverie from Suite Bergamasque, invites us to drift in its silvery glow, an evocation of moonlight filtered through the veil of night.

We then encounter the rarely performed yet deeply evocative soundscapes of Gabriel Dupont and Reynaldo Hahn. Dupont’s Après-midi de dimanche (from Les Heures Dolentes) paints a scene of quiet melancholy, where time slows, and nostalgia lingers. Hahn’s Hivernale and Le Banc Songeur (from Le Rossignol éperdu) offer meditative vignettes, where winter hushes the world into stillness and a solitary bench becomes a seat for wistful contemplation.

Charles Koechlin’s Chant de pêcheurs (Paysages et Marines, Op. 63 No. 10) carries us to the shores where fishermen sing their timeless songs to the sea, while Florent Schmitt’s Glas (Musiques Intimes No. 6) closes the recital with an intimate, haunting resonance, its solemn tolling a final meditation on time and memory.

A program rich in lyricism and depth, this evening’s performance invites us to listen beyond the notes, to hear the echoes of reflections, longing, and the intangible poetry of sound.

Regarded as one of the foremost pianists of our time, Anne Queffélec enjoys international fame and exceptional standing on today’s musical scene.

Widely acclaimed in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, U.S.A, she is invited with the most prestigious orchestras-including London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia, BBC Symphony, Zürich Tonhalle, Tokyo NHK, Radio-France Orchestras, Prague Philharmonia, Sinfonia Varsovia, Kremerata Baltica… under illustrious conductors such as Boulez, Gardiner, Jordan, Zinman,Eschenbach,Conlon,Belohlavek,Skrowacewski,Zecchi,Foster,Holliger, Janowski, Inoue, Kamioka…

She played frequently in famous festivals, London Proms, Cheltenham, Bath, Radio-France, Nantes and Tokyo Folle Journée, Grange de Meslay, La Chaise-Dieu, La Roque d’Anthéron, Rocamadour, Biarritz, Bordeaux… She took part in the soundtrack recording of Amadeus, Milos Formans’movie, under the baton of N.Marriner.

Her eclectic repertoire is reflected both in concert and on her very varied discography: more than fourty releases to her credit, from Scarlatti to Dutilleux, highly received by musical press. Recording at present  exclusively for Mirare, meanwhile in January 2019 Warner-Erato released a 21-CDs box, containing Anne Queffélec’s complete recordings for this label, between 1970 and 1996.

In November 2022, her CD dedicated to Beethoven last 3 sonatas received an enthusiastic acclaim from press and medias. And so did  her most recent recording, 2 Mozart concertos , D minor K.466 and the last one, B flat major K.595, appeared in November 2023, with OCP , Orchestre de chambre de Paris, under the baton of Lio Kuokman.

We are grateful to our 2025 RECITAL partners:

THE YOUNG PIANISTS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

The Young Pianists Scholarship Program, spearheaded by the French-American Piano Society, is a distinguished initiative aimed at nurturing the next generation of French piano virtuosos for U.S. audiences. This program offers exceptional young pianists an invaluable opportunity to advance their international presence and experience. Selected scholars from the Conservatoire National de Paris benefit from access to world-class performance venues at the Consulate of France in New York and the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C., where they are exposed to and meet curious and supportive U.S. audiences.

THE JAMES J. SHEERAN STEINWAY PIANO

At its inaugural recital on January 16th 2018, S.E. Anne Claire Legendre, Consul General of France in New York, in the company of S.E. Bertrand Lortholary, Ambassador of France in Vietam, Former Consul General of France in New York, and S.E. Francois Delattre, Ambassador of France to the United Nation, former Ambassador of France to the USA, and former Consul General of France in New York, dedicated our Steinway concert piano to

JAMES J. SHEERAN

(1923 - 2007)

A GREAT AMERICAN PATRIOT, WWII VETERAN, SON OF FRANCE, AND CHEVALIER DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR (2006) OF THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE

We are deeply thankful to the generous patrons

 who helped us fund our James J. Sheeran Steinway piano

CREDIT AGRICOLE CIB

NJ CURE

JCDECAUX

ALICE ROSNER FOUNDATION

COLAS, INC

COMMITTEE OF FRENCH SPEAKING SOCIETIES

CONNECTHINGS

CONSEILLERS DU COMMERCE EXTERIEUR DE LA FRANCE

MEDNEST

RATP DEV

VERONIQUE TRAVEL

and

The “88 Keys” Society Members and Patrons:

    Helene Buchen (C1#, D1#, F1&#, G1#, A1&#, F2#, G2#, A2#)

    Gilles Rousseau (G2,A2,B2,C3,D3,E3,F3,G3)

    Veronique and Pascal Carpentier (C6#, D6#, F6#, G6#, A6#)

    Ariane Daguin (B6, A6, G6, C7)

    Anne-Julia Audray (D5, F5, A4)

    Jean-Pierre Bizzari, MD (A5, B5)

    Laurence Chertoff (D2#, D3#)

    Thomas and Albane Duplan (C8, B1)

    Valerie and Gerard Duval (G7#, F7#)

    Lily Hsia (D5#, D7#)

    Susan Mackenzie (E6, C7#)

    Martha and Rick Olson (E4, G4)

    Daniel and Teresa Petitjean (F7, G7)

    Helene and Mathieu Petitjean (A0#,A4#)

    Dr. Ellie Abdi (B0)

    Catherine Munera and Alfredo Basurto (E5)

    Carey and Brett August (C6)

Veronique et Serge Banzet (A5)

    Arnaud Boyer (E7)

    Nigel Brown (G1)

    Florence and Eric Brun (G5)

    Eric and Isabelle Chaboureau (F2)

    Vésine de La Rue (D2)

    Philippe Dreano (G3#)

    Yoni Elmalem (A7#)

    Sylvie Epelbaum,MD (D4#)

    John F. Bennet, Paris-American Club (G4#)

    Bernard Frelat (F6)

    French-American Choir of New York (A4)

    Simone Galton (B3)

    Guy Geslin (D7)

    Anthony Gilroy (A3)

    Robert Gorman (D1)

    Odile Gorse (C1)

    Herve Houdre (C2)

    Laurent Kleitman (C5#)

    Remy Lumbroso (D6)

    Pierre Martin (F3#)

    Andrea Mayes (C5)

    Hanyi Meng (A7)

    Jean-Hugues Monier (E2)

    Mark Morris (A3#)

    Rick and Mary O'Connell (E1)

    Elizabeth Olson (C4)

    Claudine and Bernard Parisot (C4#)

    Joseph Patrych (G5)

    Michel and Judith Pautrat (F4)

    Jean Perrette (B7)

    Dmitry Rachmanov (F4#)

    Jerome Rose (A0)

    Sophie Schyler - Chateau Kirwan  (F5#)

    Guy Sorman (D4)

    Annaliese Soros (C2#)

    Marie-Monique Steckel (B4)

Code of Conduct

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Please review our Code of Conduct Policy here.

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