Ever the showman, Jean-Yves Thibaudet revels in Debussy's 24 Préludes

Jean-Yves Thibaudet

By Graham Meyer, 22 January 2025

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“Thibaudet was having some theatrical fun playing up the character of these unique pieces”

Reviewed at Chicago Symphony Center, Chicago on 19 January 2025

Debussy, Préludes: Book 1

Debussy, Préludes: Book 2

Ravel, Pavane pour une infante défunte

Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Piano

A cerebral bacchanalia: Young's bold, brainy Messiaen at Disney Hall

Néstor Castiglione, 10th April

Simone Young's take on Messiaen's Turangalîla with the Los Angeles Philharmonic proves a night to remember.

*****

Mahler survives unusual pairing as Sydney Symphony opens new season

Jeremy Eccles, 25th February

Putting Gershwin up against Mahler is a challenge, but Simone Young and Jean-Yves Thibaudet bring it off in the Sydney Symphony's 2026 season opener.

****1

Salonen and the LA Philharmonic take on the forces of nature

Néstor Castiglione, 9th January

Reflections of nature and humanity's place within it in Salonen's 2026 return

****1

Dramatic French flair from Thibaudet, Mäkelä and the Concertgebouw

Clare Varney, 17th September

Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s astonishing technical prowess in Saint-Saëns’ Fifth Piano Concerto entrances Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw.

****1

Ravinia Festival opens with bombastic Gershwin, emotional Tchaikovsky

Cameron Kelsall, 12th July

Under Marin Alsop, the Chicago Symphony string players also offered a lyrical reading of Jessie Montgomery’s beguiling Strum.

***11

Morlot's evening of French music charms Seattle

Erica Miner, 1st February

Ludovic Morlot and the Seattle Symphony commemorate the 150th anniversary of Maurice Ravel’s birth and present the world premiere of Benjamin Attahir's Hanoï Songs.

****1

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Graham Meyer

Graham is a Chicago-based arts and culture journalist, covering all forms of live performance, and specializing in classical music. His work has appeared extensively in Chicago magazine and Crain’s Chicago Business, as well as in The Chicago Tribune and at Chicago Classical Review. He has also covered dining and restaurants, winning a City and Regional Magazine Award for the restaurant newsletter Dish. Semi-professionally, he sings baritone in the choir Vox Venti, plays amateur piano, and composes music, especially choral. Apart from music, he constructs crossword puzzles and plays competitive bridge with his teenage daughter.