{"id":95423,"date":"2023-03-21T15:52:53","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T19:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=95423"},"modified":"2023-03-21T16:34:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T20:34:17","slug":"interview-pianist-mathieu-gaudet-talks-schubert-upcoming-mooredale-concert-april-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2023\/03\/21\/interview-pianist-mathieu-gaudet-talks-schubert-upcoming-mooredale-concert-april-2\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Pianist Mathieu Gaudet Talks About Schubert, And His Upcoming Mooredale Concert April 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_95424\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-95424\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-95424\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/MAthieu-Gaudet-INTERVIEW.jpg\" alt=\"Mathieu Gaudet performing\/recording at the Steinway (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-95424\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mathieu Gaudet performing\/recording at the Steinway (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Montr\u00e9al based pianist Mathieu Gaudet will be performing a program of Schubert when he visits Toronto for his recital with Mooredale Concerts on April 2.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy soul is very close to German music at the beginning of the 19th century \u2014 Schubert, Schumann, Brahms are really my favourite composers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to Schubert in particular, it was a part of the repertoire he began to fully explore later in his studies. The length of his pieces, he points out, makes them difficult to play in a school recital. He truly began to delve into Schubert\u2019s music when he got to the Master\u2019s level of his studies, and learned new pieces voraciously. \u201cI started to organize concerts where I\u2019d play almost all of his piano music at once,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what led to his decision to embark on a massive project as a recording artist. He&#8217;s in the middle of a process of recording all of Schubert&#8217;s works for piano at a rate of two releases per year on the Analekta label.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just recorded volume 8 in November. It\u2019ll probably be a 14, 15 CD project. It\u2019s about halfway through,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p><em>From Schubert Vol. 6:<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MqRDG7VLQX0?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Mathieu Gaudet<\/h3>\n<p>Many musicians have other careers out of necessity or circumstance. Mathieu Gaudet is a relatively rare case of someone with two careers where he is fully at home, and by choice.<\/p>\n<p>Born in New Brunswick, he grew up on the East Coast in Gasp\u00e9sie and Bas-Saint-Laurent. After secondary studies in both science and music, he began serious study of music at the Rimouski Music Conservatory.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>From there, he went on to the Peabody Institute (Baltimore) for a master\u2019s with Julian Martin;<\/li>\n<li>He then studied in Toronto at the Glenn Gould School of Music (Toronto) with Andr\u00e9 Laplante, Marc Durand, and John Perry, along with master classes with Leon Fleisher;<\/li>\n<li>In 2007, he returned to the University of Montr\u00e9al for a doctorate in performance, followed by a master\u2019s degree in conducting with Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Rivest;<\/li>\n<li>He also, and at the same time, began his medical studies, which he took up from age 27 to 35.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mathieu recalls attending his medical lectures and labs, and then walking to his piano studio to play for a few hours between classes. His family background is in the medical field, and his wife is a family physician.<\/p>\n<p>Today, he works as an emergency room physician at the Brome-Missisquoi-Perkins Hospital, dedicating his off days to music, and juggling his schedule with performing tours.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_95425\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-95425\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-95425\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/Mathieu-Gaudet.jpg\" alt=\"Mathieu Gaudet (Photos courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-95425\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mathieu Gaudet (Photos courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>The program<\/h3>\n<p>Some of the repertoire he\u2019ll play in Toronto represents music he first learned in his teens. Even at that age, he knew it spoke to him. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s music that is very sincere,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve never really been into fireworks and virtuosity. I\u2019m much more attracted by a romantic message.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The program includes Schubert at varied points in his career,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Twelve German Dances, Op. 171;<\/li>\n<li>Piano Sonata No. 19 in C minor, D. 958;<\/li>\n<li>Two Scherzos, D. 593;<\/li>\n<li>Four Impromptus, Op. 90, D. 899 (First book).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The <em>Impromptus<\/em> and <em>Sonata No. 19<\/em> contrast the early <em>Scherzos<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s late Schubert,\u201d he says. \u201cHe wrote these pieces just before he died. They&#8217;re really masterworks. At once, they\u2019re really touching, and really deep, but the structure is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The pieces are challenging in various ways. \u201cThe C Minor is a particular big deal, it\u2019s something like 750 measures long. It\u2019s a bit like a crazy horse,\u201d he says. \u201cThe slow movement is so singing. The first movement is so stark \u2014 it\u2019s a bit like Beethoven.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019ll be playing from the first book of the Impromptus. \u201cThey\u2019re like songs without words. Everybody knows them for good reason. I love playing them. For me, they\u2019re not like salon music, they&#8217;re deep and philosophical.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Immersing himself in Schubert\u2019s piano compositions has meant that his understanding of his works is an ongoing process, too. \u201cI do feel there\u2019s really nothing like learning a composer\u2019s whole oeuvre.\u201d He says he doesn\u2019t understand the attitude of choosing only one or two pieces to learn from a composer\u2019s oeuvre. \u201cWhen I play a composer, it\u2019s very crucial for me to know what I\u2019m talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s quite a striking difference between the young Schubert and the late Schubert,\u201d he says, without regarding either as necessarily superior. \u201cEven when he was young, he already had this very deep soul.<\/p>\n<p>The early compositions, however, as he notes, weren\u2019t quite as deep as they would become. If he recognizes a youthful Schubert\u2019s voice in the Scherzos, for example, it\u2019s something he considers in performance. \u201cShould I be more fun with it?\u201d he wonders of the earlier works. It\u2019s one of the questions he\u2019s still exploring.<\/p>\n<p>Brahms himself was fond of Schubert\u2019s<em> Twelve Dances<\/em>, as he notes. \u201cSchubert put his complete heart in it.\u201d Completed in 1823, they represent a midpoint in his too-short career. \u201cIt\u2019s a great interlude between the two massive pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His approach to learning any piece is to begin with its overall conception. \u201cIt\u2019s important to me to know what the music is saying. There\u2019s a story.\u201d Only once he\u2019s fully grasped both the technical and narrative nuances of the piece is he ready to bring it to the public. \u201cIt needs to belong to me in a way before it\u2019s on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have this big perspective, but it\u2019s not really that I\u2019ve found a definite answer,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s always sort of a moving target. I feel like, as I play the whole thing, I have more perspective, I have more tools.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where the music comes from. \u201cIf we find the answer, we stop playing it,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tickets for the April 2 concert at Walter Hall, (Edward Johnson Building, UofT ) as well as the afternoon Music &amp; Truffles concert for Kids (also featuring Gaudet) are on sale [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mooredaleconcerts.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig van Daily \u2014 classical music and opera in five minutes or less <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/ludwig-van.us9.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=4f785cb3f9058f2393ccad035&amp;id=57cdb68eac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>HERE<\/em><\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Montr\u00e9al based pianist Mathieu Gaudet will be performing a program of Schubert when he visits Toronto for his recital with Mooredale Concerts on April 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":95424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40430,76,18,19,4967,29,9567,47,63],"tags":[1334,36965,40535],"yst_prominent_words":[39580,7292,8975,12452,14729,13224,8517,6616,7141,11181,8295,13464,10812,19298,6741,10516],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/03\/MAthieu-Gaudet-INTERVIEW.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-oP5","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95423"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95423"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95428,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95423\/revisions\/95428"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95423"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=95423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}