Pascal Rogé, Piano, Wigmore Hall

As the capricious English spring gradually transforms into the slightly-more-consistent English summer, we begin to pine for the summery cultural treats of the early twentieth century: the heady novels of D. H. Lawrence, the warm palettes of Henri Matisse, and of course, the mellifluous wash of French piano music. Luckily for us, and therefore you, acclaimed French pianist Pascal Rogé will be making an appearance at the Wigmore Hall on the 9th June, with a programme devoted entirely to piano works written south of the Channel during the first half of the last century.

The trio of works that Rogé will be performing, which comprises Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque, Ravel’s Sonatine, and Poulenc’s Les Soirées de Nazelles, could hardly be subjected to a better interpreter. Rogé is a renowned interpreter of twentieth-century piano music, from Satie to Les Six, his pianism combining excess and sensuality with the technical rigour that the repertoire requires. Nowhere is the demand for this combination made more apparent than in the third and final movement of Ravel’s Sonatine, in which lush arpeggios provide a swirling backdrop for a deceptively simple melody, which undergoes various developmental procedures throughout. For all of its expressivity, clarity and precision are absolutely key to a worthwhile interpretation of this movement, and we are therefore very much looking forward to hearing its treatment beneath Rogé’s hands.

The Suite Bergamasque is of course extremely well known due to its ubiquitous slow movement, ‘Claire de lune’. However, the movement is far better observed when accompanied by the suite’s three other movements: its opening motif is easily traceable in the two movements that precede it, while its mood is offset perfectly by the strange, almost pointillistic arpeggiated figures that characterise the following ‘Passipied’.

This concert is bound to sell out, due to the Rogé’s familiarity with the repertoire, so book soon to avoid disappointment.