On this first Saturday of sales, the crowds are particularly dense in the aisles of the Atlantis shopping center, in Saint-Herblain, near Nantes. In front of the cultural space of the Leclerc brand, a piano, placed on a red carpet, is available to passers-by. From music lovers to amateurs, including children barely as tall as its black and white keys, the instrument attracts like a magnet. “I’m starting on the piano”confides William, 38, a vine pruner in Muscadet, who simply plays by ear. He, who grew up in a foster family, never had the means to take music lessons.
Discovering that a renowned pianist is coming to take his place to play in the middle of this temple of consumption particularly moves him. Accustomed to performing in unusual places, Claire-Marie Le Guay had never before displayed her talent in a shopping center. For the occasion, she chose an extract from the recital dedicated to Italy that she will perform on February 1 at the Cité des Congrès in Nantes, during the 31st edition of La Folle Journee, dedicated to European cities. “I wanted to make people feel the love, the beauty and the intimate side of Italy to offer better listening and a contrast with the rather noisy place”she explains.
Noise and grace
Despite the background music from the shops, the alarms that go off regularly, the screeching wheels of shopping carts and the movements of the crowd, the concentration and grace of the pianist’s playing redouble in intensity. Enough to impress Catherine, 68 years old, cello player, who learned about the concert in the newspaper. “ I admire him for managing to play so well in such conditions.slips this retired nurse. We should have placed the piano in a less frequented space to hear it better.”
But it is precisely this incessant ballet of passers-by that the artist was looking for. “ I want to show them that something wonderful can happen in a concert, that it is a privileged moment to explore what we carry within ourselves », comments Claire-Marie Le Guay. If a small group attends the entire concert, conscious of experiencing a suspended moment, others stop for a movement or simply savor a few musical notes, with a smile on their lips. But some don’t even glance at the melodious piano. “ This indifference hurts meregrets Catherine. This is proof that the democratization of classical music is not obvious”.
Accessible artists
“It’s not easy but it’s joyful to reach out to those who don’t know us”assures the pianist. What could be better than evoking the city of Venice to speak to as many people as possible and launch the concert with a gondolier song by Mendelssohn, before continuing with the “Dream of Love” by Frantz Liszt and evoking the Bach’s admiration for Italy and the joy that emanates from it (Italian concerto, transcription by Marcello).
Holy, a 45-year-old financial manager, doesn’t miss a beat of the concert, his arms clinging to those of his son Gaël, a teenager with autistic disorders. “We both listen to a lot of music and I was sure he was going to like it,” she smiles, happy to get so close to a pianist she admires, and one of whose works she has read.
« These piano concerts in places like this are a way of showing that our artists are accessible and close to the public”underlines René Martin, creator and artistic director of La Folle Journee, who followed the pianist throughout her wanderings. Last concert venue of the day, Nantes airport. To go to Venice without even taking a plane.