French-American Piano Society

in partnership with

THE CONSULATE OF FRANCE IN NEW YORK

and

CREDIT AGRICOLE CORPORATE INVESTMENT BANK

SOFITEL NEW YORK

present

Yves Henry, Piano

“When Schubert Celebrates RAVEL’s 150th”

2025 Winter Benefit Recital

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20 2025 AT 7:30 PM

CONSULATE OF FRANCE IN NEW YORK

PROGRAM

Yves Henry, Piano

Performing on the James E. Sheeran Steinway Piano

“When Schubert Celebrates RAVEL’s 150th”

Franz Schubert (1797–1828)

Impromptu in B-flat Major, D. 935 No. 3 "Rosamunde"

Impromptu in G-flat Major, D. 899 No. 3

Hungarian Melody in B Minor, D. 817

Ständchen ("Serenade") from Schwanengesang (arr. Franz Liszt, S. 560/7)

Impromptu in A-flat Major, D. 899 No. 4

Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)

Valses nobles et sentimentales

Pavane pour une infante défunte ("Pavane for a Dead Princess")

Alborada del gracioso ("Morning Song of the Jester")

Recital Story

Introduction

We invite you on a journey across time, where two titans of music, Franz Schubert and Maurice Ravel, meet in the shimmering corridors of imagination. This is not merely a recital; it is an artistic dialogue—a celebration, a reflection, and a reimagining of worlds separated by a century yet united in their profound love for melody, texture, and the infinite nuances of human emotion.

Our soloist tonight will guide us through a vivid story titled "When Schubert Celebrates Ravel's 150th", a fantasy that unfolds on the 150th anniversary of Ravel's birth. In this tale, Schubert—whose timeless lyricism has enchanted audiences for nearly two centuries—finds himself wandering into Ravel's kaleidoscopic world of shimmering harmonies and audacious innovation.

Story

In the heart of a luminous Viennese forest, Schubert sits by a brook, sketching melodies that ripple like sunlight on water. But tonight, the air is charged with something unusual. From the shadows of time emerges Ravel, dressed in the subtle elegance of Parisian artistry.

Ravel approaches with a wry smile, carrying a prism-like piano, its keys glowing with iridescent hues. He bows deeply to Schubert, who rises, astonished yet delighted.

"Maître Schubert," Ravel begins, "it is your spirit of melody, your daring simplicity, that has guided me. On this, my 150th birthday, I invite you to a fête—a duet between our souls, where Vienna's golden hues blend with the opalescent mists of my Basque homeland."

The two composers sit at the fantastical piano, their music intertwining like vines—Schubert's heart-melting melodies embracing Ravel's crystalline harmonies. The brook seems to hum along, a natural orchestra for their timeless celebration.

 Each piece played is a tribute, a transformation: Schubert’s Impromptus shimmer with Ravelian textures, while Ravel’s Pavane is reborn in the melodic purity of Schubert’s world. The recital becomes a bridge between past and future, where tradition dances with innovation, and two creative spirits converse in a shared, universal language.

As the music concludes, the luminescent piano dims, and Ravel fades into the mist, leaving Schubert alone once more by the brook. But the melodies remain—whispering, shimmering, eternal.

Conclusion

Tonight, through this piano solo, we relive their imagined encounter, exploring what might happen when Schubert's lyrical soul meets Ravel's impressionistic genius. Let your mind wander to that forest by the brook, where the boundaries of time dissolve, and music is the only reality.

Both pianist and composer, Yves Henry was trained at the Paris Conservatoire in the 1970s-80s, where he studied with Pierre Sancan and took courses in chamber music, accompaniment and choral direction as well as classes in writing, obtaining a total of seven premiers prix by the age of 22.

The same year, after having worked with Aldo Ciccolini for three years, he won First Grand Prize at the Robert Schumann International Competition in Zwickau. He is now recognized as one of the specialists in the interpretation of Chopin and Liszt, in particular owing to his experience with instruments from the Romantic era. [1]

Professor at the Paris Conservatory and the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional in Paris, member of the programme committee of the Chopin Institute in Warsaw on the occasion of the Chopin bicentennial in 2010, and honorary member of the Japanese Piano Teachers Association, Yves Henry gives numerous recitals the world over, primarily devoted to composers of the Romantic era. Regularly invited for master classes at universities in the USA, Japan and China, he sits on juries of important international competitions (Monte-Carlo Piano Masters, Dvořák Piano Competition in Nelahozeves, Robert Schumann International Piano Competition in Zwickau, International Frédéric Chopin Competition in Warsaw). He also devotes himself felicitously to chamber music alongside his violinist brother and various partners (Michel Portal, Karl Leister, Ivry Gitlis, Brigitte Engerer, Augustin Dumay, Gary Hoffman, soloists of the Orchestre de Paris, Michel Lethiec, the Elysées and Modigliani quartets…) and is at the origin of several productions combining literature and music with actresses Marie-Christine Barrault and Brigitte Fossey.

In addition to his activities as a performer and teacher, he has composed several works inspired by texts of the Corsican poet André Giovanni (Les Chants Tyrrhéniens, Les Sentiers dérobés) along with chamber music pieces (Kaga Yusen for violin and piano, Suite Vénitienne for flute, cello and piano, Il soplo ligero for clarinet and piano). He recently composed a Nocturne for orchestra that was first performed in Paris and Germany in 2014. He has also made transcriptions for concert performance of works including Paul Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice, Maurice Ravel's La Valse, and Borodin's Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor, which will be the object of a CD release in 2015. 

In January 2010, he was promoted to the rank of Officer in the Order of Arts and Letters by Frédéric Mitterrand, Minister of Culture, received the Gloria Artis award from the Polish government for his contribution to the Chopin Year in France, and was one of the personalities to be included in the 2010 Who’s Who in France. In January 2011, he succeeded Alain Duault as President of the Nohant Chopin Festival.

In the course of the 2015-16 season, he will give concerts in Germany, Japan, France, Poland, Romania, Hong-Kong and the United States and is invited to participate in the jury of the Schumann International Piano Competition in June 2016 in Zwickau.

Discography: from 2006 to 2009, Yves Henry has recorded, in 4 CDs, the complete works that Chopin composed or finished in Nohant (CD-book Les étés de Frédéeric Chopin à Nohant, Éditions du Patrimoine, 2010). In 2011, he released a Liszt recital. In May 2014, he released a 2-CD set devoted to the reconstitution of Chopin's last concert in Paris ('Choix France Musique’) recorded with an 1837 Pleyel piano at Chaumet jewellers, 12 Place Vendôme, the very site of Chopin's death in October 1849. In 2015, he released a double-CD set (Liszt/Schumann/Chopin). This recording is the fruit of a double confrontation: on the one hand, between Schumann, Chopin and Liszt, three giants of the Romantic generation who dedicated piano works to each other; and on the other, two piano builders, Pleyel and Erard who, at the same period, were exploring completely opposite aesthetic and technical paths. The relations between Schumann, Chopin and Liszt are discussed by Doctor Thomas Synofzik, Director of the Robert-Schumann-Haus in Zwickau

The Young Pianists Scholarship Program, spearheaded by the French-American Piano Society, is a distinguished initiative aimed at nurturing the next generation of French piano virtuosos for U.S. audiences. This program offers exceptional young pianists an invaluable opportunity to advance their international presence and experience. Selected scholars from the Conservatoire National de Paris benefit from access to world-class performance venues at the Consulate of France in New York and the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C., where they are exposed to and meet curious and supportive U.S. audiences.

=We are grateful to our 2024 RECITAL partners:

THE YOUNG PIANISTS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

The Young Pianists Scholarship Program, spearheaded by the French-American Piano Society, is a distinguished initiative aimed at nurturing the next generation of French piano virtuosos for U.S. audiences. This program offers exceptional young pianists an invaluable opportunity to advance their international presence and experience. Selected scholars from the Conservatoire National de Paris benefit from access to world-class performance venues at the Consulate of France in New York and the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C., where they are exposed to and meet curious and supportive U.S. audiences.

THE JAMES J. SHEERAN STEINWAY PIANO

At its inaugural recital on January 16th 2018, S.E. Anne Claire Legendre, Consul General of France in New York, in the company of S.E. Bertrand Lortholary, Ambassador of France in Vietam, Former Consul General of France in New York, and S.E. Francois Delattre, Ambassador of France to the United Nation, former Ambassador of France to the USA, and former Consul General of France in New York, dedicated our Steinway concert piano to

JAMES J. SHEERAN

(1923 - 2007)

A GREAT AMERICAN PATRIOT, WWII VETERAN, SON OF FRANCE, AND CHEVALIER DE LA LEGION D'HONNEUR (2006) OF THE REPUBLIC OF FRANCE

We are deeply thankful to the generous patrons

 who helped us fund our James J. Sheeran Steinway piano

CREDIT AGRICOLE CIB

NJ CURE

JCDECAUX

ALICE ROSNER FOUNDATION

COLAS, INC

COMMITTEE OF FRENCH SPEAKING SOCIETIES

CONNECTHINGS

CONSEILLERS DU COMMERCE EXTERIEUR DE LA FRANCE

MEDNEST

RATP DEV

VERONIQUE TRAVEL

and

The “88 Keys” Society Members and Patrons:

    Helene Buchen (C1#, D1#, F1&#, G1#, A1&#, F2#, G2#, A2#)

    Gilles Rousseau (G2,A2,B2,C3,D3,E3,F3,G3)

    Veronique and Pascal Carpentier (C6#, D6#, F6#, G6#, A6#)

    Ariane Daguin (B6, A6, G6, C7)

    Anne-Julia Audray (D5, F5, A4)

    Jean-Pierre Bizzari, MD (A5, B5)

    Laurence Chertoff (D2#, D3#)

    Thomas and Albane Duplan (C8, B1)

    Valerie and Gerard Duval (G7#, F7#)

    Lily Hsia (D5#, D7#)

    Susan Mackenzie (E6, C7#)

    Martha and Rick Olson (E4, G4)

    Daniel and Teresa Petitjean (F7, G7)

    Helene and Mathieu Petitjean (A0#,A4#)

    Dr. Ellie Abdi (B0)

    Catherine Munera and Alfredo Basurto (E5)

    Carey and Brett August (C6)

Veronique et Serge Banzet (A5)

    Arnaud Boyer (E7)

    Nigel Brown (G1)

    Florence and Eric Brun (G5)

    Eric and Isabelle Chaboureau (F2)

    Vésine de La Rue (D2)

    Philippe Dreano (G3#)

    Yoni Elmalem (A7#)

    Sylvie Epelbaum,MD (D4#)

    John F. Bennet, Paris-American Club (G4#)

    Bernard Frelat (F6)

    French-American Choir of New York (A4)

    Simone Galton (B3)

    Guy Geslin (D7)

    Anthony Gilroy (A3)

    Robert Gorman (D1)

    Odile Gorse (C1)

    Herve Houdre (C2)

    Laurent Kleitman (C5#)

    Remy Lumbroso (D6)

    Pierre Martin (F3#)

    Andrea Mayes (C5)

    Hanyi Meng (A7)

    Jean-Hugues Monier (E2)

    Mark Morris (A3#)

    Rick and Mary O'Connell (E1)

    Elizabeth Olson (C4)

    Claudine and Bernard Parisot (C4#)

    Joseph Patrych (G5)

    Michel and Judith Pautrat (F4)

    Jean Perrette (B7)

    Dmitry Rachmanov (F4#)

    Jerome Rose (A0)

    Sophie Schyler - Chateau Kirwan  (F5#)

    Guy Sorman (D4)

    Annaliese Soros (C2#)

    Marie-Monique Steckel (B4)

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