Customer Reviews

Samson Francois Plays Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand and Grieg Piano Concerto

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This DVD is a fascinating look at a unique artist. He had a remarkable style, the appeal of which is hard to describe. I think the secret of it was the marrying of opposites. His playing was elegant and brusque, forceful and poetic, spontaneous and precise. He was never boring. Watching this dapper, very French figure a few years before his premature death is both poignant and thrilling. He was very popular in France and Japan but little known elsewhere. EMI is to be commended for releasing this DVD in the United States.

A word on the performances. The Grieg piano concerto is a fine example of Francois' art. He avoids Romantic exaggeration and excess; the result is refined, elegant and poetic. The Ravel concerto for the left hand is amazing. Everything in this piece is superbly expressed. The performer and the music seem to be one.

This DVD restored for the posterity, the craft of this notable pianist of aristocratic presence and elegant phrasing: Samson Francois who played a superb performance of the celebrated Ravel' s "Piano Concert for the left hand" , dedicated originally to Paul Wittgenstein the Austrian pianist who lost his right arm in the WW1.
Grieg' s Piano Concerto is played with such artistic imagination, revaluating it.
As bonus Maurizio Pollini plays three Chopin's works.
Go for this DVD, totally rewarding.

I have heard some bland, forgettable performances of the Ravel Left Hand Concerto - and thus, I never thought much of the piece itself. I then realized, after hearing Samson Francois play it, how much I'd missed out on. His is an interpretation of the highest order - full of vitality and passion - and while most performances and recordings basically allude to the convenient excuse of 'I can only use one hand instead of two', hearing Francois play it, it sounds as if he's using both hands. Or at least he channeled the unused energy of the right hand into the left. I am really looking forward to the years to come, and watching this spellbinding performance over and over again. The Grieg is alright - some interesting tempi, and yes, he fumbles a few passages. But this DVD is really about the Ravel - and underscores the tremendous loss of Francois at the young age of 46.