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JEANNE BOVET
Swiss pianist (1917-2010)
One might be tempted to say Jeanne Bovet was born with a musical silver spoon in her mouth. Her pedigree is extensive and includes, in addition to a long relationship with Alfred Cortot, study with Yvonne Lefébure, Nadia Boulanger (with whom I had the pleasure of studying at the Conservatoire de Fontainebleau), the composers Stravinsky, Messiaen and Koechlin, and the conductor Charles Munch.
Jeanne Bovet's Schumann is very interesting, and quite pleasing to me. Although I generally prefer my Schumann in the early and literary German Romantic style with a healthy dose of Teutonic moroseness, Eusebius and Florestan in proper proportion, this elegant French style of the generation of Cortot's students does both pianist and music credit.
Her Scarlatti, on the other hand, I find disturbing. It is almost as though Jeanne Bovet did not take his music seriously enough to bother much about it, rather dashing off a recording of this and that to fill up a CD. If you want to hear Scarlatti, there are numerous performances in these pages that are quite wonderful. I encourage you to listen to Maria Tipo whose tone is akin to translucent pearls and whose interpretations elevate this music to the first rank. I also recommend Boris Bloch for a more modern approach, but equally exquisite.
Handel Chaconne in G major, HWV 435
Bach Partita 1 in B♭ minor, BWV 825
i Prelude
ii Allemande
iii Courante
iv Sarabande
v Menuets I & II
vi Gigue
Bach Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 836
[ from Book I of The Well Tempered Clavier ]
Prelude
Fugue
Bach Sicilienne in G minor, BWV 1031
[ transcribed by Wilhelm Kempff ]
Scarlatti Keyboard Sonatas
in D minor, K 9 "Pastorale"
in B minor, K 27
in D minor, K 32
in D minor, K 64
in B minor, K 87
in C major, K 95
in A major, K 208
in F major, K 274
in E major, K 380
in B♭ major, K 440
in D major, K 511
Schumann Kinderszenen, Op 15
I Von Fremden Ländern und Menschen
II Kuriose Geschichte
III Hasche-Mann
IV Bittendes Kind
V Glückes genug
VI Wichtige begebenheit
VII Träumerei
VIII Am Kamin
IX Ritter vom Steckenpferd
X Fast zu ernst
XI Fürchtenmachen
XII Kind im Einschlummern
XIII Der Dichter spricht
Schumann Waldszenen, Op 82
I Eintritt
II Jäger auf der Lauer
III Einsame Blumen
IV Verrufene Stelle
V Freundliche Landschaft
VI Herberge
VII Vogel als Prophet
VIII Jagdlied
IX Abschied
Brahms Intermezzo in B♭ minor, Op 117~2
Debussy Children's Corner, L 113
I Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum
II Jimbo's Lullaby
III Serenade for the Doll
IV The Snow is Dancing
V The Little Shepherd
VI Golliwog's Cake-walk
For those of you who enjoy murder mysteries, here is my first with a strong musical polemic as background
Murder in the House of the Muse
which is also available as an audiobook.
And this is the more recently published second mystery in the series:
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