Lise de la Salle, Piano

Biography

Lise de la Salle, born in 1988, starts playing the piano at the age of four and gives her first concert, broadcasted live by Radio France, when she is nine. Aged 13 she makes her debut with an orchestra with Beethoven`s Concerto No 2.

Since 2001 she is pursuing an impressive international career and performing in the major conert halls of Europe, the United States and Asia like the Berliner Philharmonie, the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space, the Grand National Theater Beijing, the Metropolitan Museum New York, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Rose Theater Lincoln Center New York, the Auditorium du Louvre Paris, the Grand Auditorium in Lisbon, the Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, the Lincoln Center Washington, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, and the Alte Oper Frankfurt.

She is working with the conductors James Conlon, Fabio Luisi, Osmö Vanska, Philippe Herreweghe and also under the baton of Sir Charles Mackerras, Mareck Janowski, Semyon Bychkov, Alexander Dmitriev, George Pehlivanian, Lan Shui, James Gaffigan, Ruben Gazarian, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Keith Lockhart and Lawrence Foster.

During the season 2010 she appears at venues like the Musikverein in Vienna, the Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, the Moscow Conservatory, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the Boston Symphony Hall, the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

Lise de la Salle is regularly invited to perform with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Wiener Symphoniker, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne, the Orchestre National de Belgique, the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, the San Fransisco Symphonic Orchestra, the Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn, the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic.

Her many festival appearances include: Ravinia Festival, La Roque d`Anthéron, Aspen Festival, Bad Kissingen Festival, Enesco Festival in Bucharest, Saint-Denis Festival, Les Folles Journées in Nantes, Tokyo and Warsaw.

A first disc dedicated to Ravel and Rachmaninov, unanimously acclaimed by critics, was the beginning of her cooperation with the the record label Naïve Classique in 2002. Her second recording (Bach, Liszt 2004) was honoured with the award “CD OF THE MONTH” by GRAMOPHONE, the most influential magazine of classical music in the world in 2005.

Her third album “Concertos No 1” (Shostakovich, Liszt, Prokofiev, released in 2007) with the Gulbenkian Orchestra under the baton of Lawrence Foster received the awards “CD OF THE MONTH” and “EDITOR'S CHOICE” by “GRAMOPHONE” in 2008. Finally a double album, dedicated to Mozart and Prokofiev including a DVD “Lise de la Salle, Majeure!”, directed by Jean-Philippe Perrot, was awarded the “EDITOR´S CHOICE” by “GRAMOPHONE” and the “BBC Music Magazine Choice” by BBC Music Magazine the same year.

A new disc dedicated to Chopin marks the year 2010. It features live recordings of the 2nd Concerto with the Staatskapelle Dresden under the baton of Fabio Luisi and the four Ballades.

Between 1997 and 2004 Lise de la Salle won numerous competitions (e.g. First Prize in the 2004 Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York). From 1998 to 2006 she studied with Pascal Némirovski. She also attended the master class of Bruno Rigutto at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris – CNSM. For a long time she followed the advice of Geneviève Joy-Dutilleux.

Calendar

Repertoire

Concertos with Orchestra

Camille Saint-Saëns

Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22

Dmitry Shostakovich

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 35

Felix Mendelssohn

Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25

Franz Joseph Haydn

Piano Concerto in C Major

Franz Liszt

Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, S124/R455

Piano Concerto No. 2 in A major, S125/R456

Frédéric Chopin

Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21

George Gershwin

Concerto in F

Johannes Brahms

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15

Ludwig van Beethoven

Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58

Manuel de Falla

Nights in the Gardens of Spain

Maurice Ravel

Piano Concerto in G major

Sergei Rachmaninov

Piano Concerto no. 2 in C-minor, op. 18

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

Sergej Prokofiev

Piano Concerto No. 1 in D flat major, Op. 10

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, KV 466

Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, KV 488

Piano Concerto No. 12 in A - Major KV 414

Piano concerto No. 9 in E flat Major, KV 271, "Jeunehomme"

Piano Concerto No. 19 in F Major, KV 459

Review

Concert with LSO and Antonio Pappano

The Guardian

Mon, 2016-02-01

"The evening kicked off, however, with Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Technically adventurous though always assured, Lise de la Salle replaced the indisposed Alice Sara Ott as soloist, causing something of a sensation with her weighty, witty playing. Pappano’s conducting was wonderfully mercurial and precise, passionate yet unsentimental". Tim Ashley

Concert with LSO and Antonio Pappano

Bachtrack

Mon, 2016-02-01

The subtlety in this concert came at the beginning, in the shape of Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Rachmaninov starts off by treating the famous theme of the A minor Caprice with impish humour: a dozen suggestions of the theme appear in various combinations of instruments before the original is revealed. As an opening number of a concert, it's a recipe for a triumph or a train wreck: the orchestral texture is very sparse and the music is chocablock with handovers between different instruments, all of which are completely exposed. Total precision is required, and total precision is what Pappano, the LSO and soloist Lise de la Salle gave it. De la Salle isn't the most muscular player of Rachmaninov. Where she shines is in the filigree intricacy, when Rachmaninov spins a spider's web of notes around a theme as it moves up and down the keyboard at pace. De la Salle's articulation is exceptionally clear: if she were an opera singer, you would say that her diction was perfect. You might also accuse her of being a shade underpowered, but then Pappano knows all about balancing an orchestra against a soloist. He was matchless in his manipulation of dynamics to ensure that the piano was always audible, and De la Salle was impressively coordinated with the orchestra, particularly given that she was a last minute replacement for the injured Alica Sara Ott. One particular moment summed it up: a fast, rippling piano phrase which ended on a clear high note which has to conincide perfectly with a unison note from the glockenspiel. The timing was perfect to the microsecond. At the other end of the keyboard, the big closing piano phrase of the Dies Irae was memorably imposing. David Karlin

Little Lise and the Revolution

Berlingske Tidende

Sun, 2009-02-08

Friday evening we could hear Ravel's piano concerto in a full concert hall . Not the one for one hand but the concerto for both hands. Lise de la Salle sounded as though she had three! The young French artist was rather firm at times, and put more emphasis on the rhythm rather than colours. But she also was very alert and ready to play with the orchestra.

Courage, Strength and Surplus

Jyllandsposten

Tue, 2010-05-25

The ash cloud forced Lise de la Salle to cancel her concert in Mogens Dahl Concert Hall, Copenhagen but fortunately a new date was found only a month later. With pale, transparant skin and a deep red dress she entered the podium and hardly acknowledged the audience before she sat down to the piano. Each of the introducing three chords in Beethoven's Sonata no. 26, Op. 81a titled 'Les Adieux' were allowed to sound for what seemed like an eternity. Her feeling for bringing the melodies forward into the light made the sonata intense and alive to listen to. There was constantly a contrast in sound and an intense poetic dwelling which underlined Lise de la Salle's particular musicality. She continued this atmosphere in Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' Op 27, no.2. The dark introduction opened lyrically in tothe hall in a cascade of velveteen colours. Insistingly Lise de la Salle's fingers played the rhythmical motifs in the last fast movement with startling clarity. Schumann's Symphonic Etudes with Variations Op. 13 demand courage, raw strength and incredible surplus - both technically and musically. Lise de la Salle had it all. She unfolded the singing theme with virtuosity and played the following themes brilliantly. With the encore - a beautifully shaped nocturne by Chopin, she quieted the seething hall. Again she impressed with her free and effortless handling of the keyboard. A fine end to a convincing evening.

Intelligent and Probing

The Classical Review

Mon, 2011-06-20

This issue is a notable achievement, one in which Lise de la Salle proves herself to be a dedicated and perceptive Lisztian. Moreover her piano is superbly recorded (in the Sendesaal in Bremen, Germany); very immediate in perspective without the listener ever feeling intimidated, full-toned with a thunderous bass and a treble that is bright without being clangorous. The dynamic range is wide, opening out impressively in fortissimos (which are captured fearlessly by the microphones), although it could be said that the pianist sometimes plays too loud – although she certainly unleashes the optimum potential of a modern concert grand with total confidence, she never quite achieves the very quietest of pianissimos. In the course of her recital, Lise de la Salle conjures many fireworks and displays much finesse – the music, her interpretation and command, and Naïve’s high production values, coming together for an important release. Colin Anderson

Dynamite

Mon, 2011-10-24

And in this week's cd it sounds as though Liszt's soul has taken up its abode in the young pianist Lise de la Salle. In the best meaning of the word there is something satanic in the way Liszt composes music for the piano. In a piece like Mazeppa, which is about a wild ride over the steppe, he defies the physical limitations of the piano completely. It has to be played with a whetted appetite, and this is exactly what young Lise de la Salle does. Tribute to the idols. Liszt wrote hundreds of piano pieces, but he also had another speciality: to rewrite other composers' music so he could perform it on the piano. This one also hears on Lise de la Salle's cd. She alternates between original pieces and transcriptions like Liszt himself did when he performed, and it gives the cd a brilliant dynamic. A little bit of Mozart's Requiem and a love song by Schubert are portrayed like heroes from the past.

Elegance and Charm

Grand Rapids Press

Sun, 2012-02-12

De la Salle, who made her debut with the Grand Rapids Symphony's Rising Stars series in January 2009, has emerged as a pianist of extraordinary gifts. A focused performer with an introspective passion, de la Salle powered her way to breathtaking climaxes as needed, aided by Lockington, who navigated the minimalist accompaniment with a deft hand. But by far what was more remarkable was the elegance and charm of her nimble fingers. The witty scherzo was full of Gallic grace and sparkling translucency. Her trills glittered and her chromatic passages gleamed in the finale. Her performance was, at once, poised and polished and yet fresh. Her encore was Claude Debussy's prelude, “La danse de Puck” or “Puck's Dance,” from his first book of preludes. Floaty, cheeky, every gesture clearly articulated, nothing wasted. Beautifully done

Fever With Fantasies

Berlingske

Sun, 2012-03-04

Lise de la Salle played the tour de force of the romantic piano literature, pale and shaking from fever - and yet she surpassed herself. Chopin's first ballads must definitely be played by virtuosos with quick fingers and tempests in the heart! - Like only 23 year old Lise de la Salle - a young member of the touring stars and already a frequent guest in Danish concert halls. One's luck is made once one is seated in the full hall in the Royal Library: the girl with the fine profile diverts with all four Chopin ballads. Yet,all is not well. Lise plays the concert with fever and flu symptoms. Welcome to the world's toughest on keyboard. After the intermission we hear Schumann's Symphonic Etudes. And the tough soloist at the piano is transformed. She builds the colossal work up as a cosmic continuum, surpasses herlsef in the racing runs up and down the keyboard and gives us music in the slower moments. The Chopin was absolutely fine but Lise de la Salle's variations were cosmic. And the encore by Debussy was quiet, introverted and impressionistic. Get well soon and thank you very very very much. Søren Schauser

Happy Timing Memorable Concert

Kristeligt Dagblad

Fri, 2012-05-25

The two pieces - Mozart's lovely Serenade for Winds KV375 and Schubert's beloved Trout Quintet were ideally suited for this evening's concert. 'The slim French pianist Lise de la Salle has in spite of her tender age (early 20's) acquired a lot of experience: recorded cd's and performed concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Now she was playing Schubert for the first kind in concert - with the Diamond Ensemble. It was a fresh 'Trout' from the serving dish and flipping in the fast movements - but the five musicians expressed the lyrical passages beautifully, particularly the famous movement with variations. Lise de la Salle displayed a formidable technique and a rather hard touch, which could make some of the cords seem a little abrupt. But this was a minor matter during the concert which programme value is well beyond all stars. The Trout is not only a happy and poetic piece of music, it also has tragic undertones of life's perishability and the fleetingness of youth. One was grateful for the beautiful moment this lovely May evening in the Black Diamond Concert Hall.

Dazzling

Los Angeles Times

Fri, 2013-02-01

The concert's centerpiece was a powerhouse performance of the "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," featuring the brilliant 24-year-old French pianist Lise de la Salle. On Tuesday she gave a hair-raising performance of Schumann's Piano Quintet with members of the hilharmonic's Chamber Music Society. Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody"- actually24variations based on the last of Paganini's 24 caprices for solo violin -- is among the most difficult in the pianist's repertoire. But De la Salle made listeners forget about bravura technique, even while dazzlingly conjuring the violinist's legendary devilish playing in the off-beat syncopations of the 9th variation or evoking his dancing left-hand pizzicato in the 19th. Noseda and the Philharmonic maintained impressive balance, matching her virtuosity and warm lyricism note for note. By Rick Schultz

Premier Young Pianist

Culture Spot LA

Tue, 2013-02-05

.."But when she began playing, it was a different story. And by the end of the piece, it was clear that the audience had just heard one of the premier young pianists of our time. Make no mistake, the Paganini variations, like all of Rachmaninoffs piano works, are very difficult. After all, he wrote it for himself, and he was first a concert pianist and then a composer. De la Salle was completely up to the task. It was a sight to see her fingers flying over the keyboard and her cowboy boots on the pedals. And the audience didnt have to worry about the orchestra overshadowing her because she played big". Henry Schlinger, Culture Spot LA

Discography