Lucas Debargue’s performing interpretation as a new horizon for understanding the artistic space of N. Medtner’s Sonata f­moll, op. 5
Authors: Rumiantseva A. Yu. 
Published: March 2022

The relevance. The development of piano performance is the result of the interaction of two alternatives — tradition and innovation. Innovations emerge and are affirmed, overcoming the conservative resistance of traditional performance stamps. Each new stage of this evolutionary process is marked by the appearance on the musical horizon of bright names of pianists, who, stunning the audience with their unexpected performance decisions, break established traditions and form new landmarks for performing and perceiving musical works. In the modern space of world piano performance, such a unique musician is the French pianist Luc Debarg. In his extraordinary interpretations, the pianist convincingly demonstrates the new organics of performance and reflects the latest pianistic trends, which deserves special attention and determines the relevance of the study.

The purpose of the article consists in realizing the performing conception of Lucas Debargue regarding the N. Medtner’s Sonata f-moll, op. 5 through identification of performing stylistics features of the French pianist.

The topicality of the article. The research material was: the musical text of the Sonata f-moll, op. 5 M. Medtner; videorecording of the performance of the Sonata by Luc Debargue and Boris Berezovsky.

The methodology. The study used a historical approach, the method of comparative analysis, musicological and performing analysis

The result. In musical performance and musicology, N. Medtner’s Sonata f-moll, Op. 5 is grasped as retrospective in the nature of imagery.  It is characterized usually by a deep but restrained melancholy, nobility, perfection of form, density and graphic texture, lack of colorism.

Lucas Debargue sees the Sonata as a symbol of cultural memory. The texture becomes transparent and differentiated, each of the texture layers seems to be visually filled with color and acquires semantic meaning. Comparing textured layers during performance forms an idea of “traveling” through different time spaces. Strengthening the texture and semantic allusions of M. Medtner’s text, L. Debargue, using well-established, historically characteristic types of articulation, corresponds to the style of J. S. Bach, D. Scarlatti, R. Schumann, F. Chopin, S. Rachmaninoff, A. Scriabin.

Through a carefully constructed system of interaction between microagogics, microdynamics, and texture density, the pianist forms a through image — memories that are revived by the memory but do not lose their brightness.

So, the leading principle of L. Debargue’s performing style is the modernization of texts of past eras.  The pianist offers a post-romantic concept of reading N. Medtner’s Sonata, which actualizes the polylogue of musical and historical eras.

The scientific novelty. For the first time in musicology, the features of L. Debargue’s performing style are studied.

The practical significance. The results of the work can be applied in the training courses «Piano», «History of piano performance», in further scientific researches.