David Fray (France)

"...His interpretations are musically polished, technically elegant, and vividly demonstrate the intellectual component of music." - "The New York Times".

Renowned French pianist David Fray, acclaimed worldwide for his extraordinary intellectual interpretations of Bach and Schubert's compositions, will perform in Latvia for the first time on February 4th. The musician will present a concert at the Lielā Giļde in Riga, featuring compositions by Franz Schubert and Franz Liszt.

"Refined," "investigated," "imaginative," and "virtuosic" - critics describe Fray's masterful performance with these epithets. "Fray's interpretations of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Ravel, Shostakovich, Brahms, and Schubert's music are so artistic and original that it's hard to comprehend how he accomplishes them," writes "The Epoch Times." Fray compares his most famous Bach piano music performances to those of Glenn Gould - and Gould is recognized as one of the most charismatic Bach interpreters of all time. The French musician's performance stands out with a special "connection" - he manages to create an unusual balance between reflection and emotionality, technical precision, and the poetry of his playing. The pianist's approach to work involves three strict principles - "sing, swing, and think." While the "swing" rule is related to the rhythmic structure of the composition, "sing and think" reflect the performer's personality - musician David Fray. "I try to make my instrument sing. The piano is wonderful, but when playing it, you need to overcome the constraints imposed by its nature as a percussion instrument. I prefer not acrobatics on the keys but thoughtfulness in playing. My approach includes 10 percent of finger work and 90 percent of intellect," he explains. "I want to show the audience the beauty that usually goes unnoticed. Art - including music - is created for that purpose. An artist, a musician must help the viewer and listener to see, hear, and feel," he concludes.

David Fray was born in 1981 in the city of Tarbes in the French Pyrenees. Both of the musician's parents were educators – his mother taught German, and his father was a philosophy teacher. Fray began learning to play the piano at the age of four, and after finishing school, he continued to pursue a musician's career at the Paris National Conservatory, where his mentor was Jacques Rouvier.

Growing up in an environment steeped in the German language and philosophical reasoning, the musician chose an intellectual approach to piano playing. Combining this with an almost physical symbiosis with the instrument and introspective sound, he quickly gained worldwide attention and acclaim. In 2004, David Fray won the Montreal International Music Competition, and by 2006, he received standing ovations in Paris at the Châtelet Theatre, where he was invited at the last minute to replace Hélène Grimaud. Immediately after this performance, Fray became one of the few young pianists of his generation to sign an exclusive contract with "Virgin Classics."

His first recorded CD, "Bach & Boulez," was released in 2007 and was acclaimed as the best album of the year by "The Times" and "Le Soir" newspapers. The second, "Bach: Piano Concertos" (2008), a recording of Bach's piano concertos with the Bremen Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, received the German Record Critics' Award. This was followed by the album "Schubert Impromptus Op.90 & Moments Musicaux" (2009), highly praised by critics for its "astonishing sensitivity in performance and profound understanding of Franz Schubert's complex inner world." Over the next five years, Fray released three more albums: "Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 22 & 25" (2010), "Bach: Piano Works" (2013), and "Schubert: Fantaisie" (2015). The latter, an album of Schubert's late works, earned the "Editor's Choice" award from the British magazine "Gramophone" and was praised as "extremely thoughtful and moving." In 2008, a documentary film dedicated to David Fray titled "Sing, Swing & Think," directed by Bruno Monsaingeon, was produced.

The tour organizer is the international production company of Eugene Wintour-Irverstag Winstag Production, OU. Tickets at city ticket offices and online at bilesuparadize.lv.

Season partners - Amber Beverage Group and Era Esthetic.

Program of the Concert

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

• Klavierstück No. 2 D. 946

• Wanderer-Fantasie D. 760

*Interval*

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Four Pieces from „Années de Pèlerinage“:

• Sposalizio (Deuxième année: Italie)

• Sonetto 104 del Petrarca (Troisième année)

• Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d’Este (Troisième année)

• Après une lecture de Dante / Fantasia quasi Sonata (Deuxième année)