2023-06-11 10:11:09
It is certainly no coincidence that Kimball Gallagher has chosen to open his Parisian recital (1) with the Sonate K.331 of Mozart: its last movement is none other than the famous Turkish march on which so many budding pianists have practiced. “This marvelous piece seems to me emblematic of the constant and fruitful borrowings of Western music from other traditions. One might multiply the examples of these crossed influences, proof that art is in perpetual dialogue. »
The desire for a “step aside”
In perfect French, the artist born in Boston in 1981 recounts his training from the age of 5, “under the voluntary impulse” from his father then, following the path of the best virtuosos across the Atlantic, to the famous Juilliard School in New York. But, already, the desire for “step aside” taps him: “I felt it was necessary to place the works of Haydn or Chopin in the intimate context for which they had been written rather than in huge, often impersonal auditoriums. »
Hence this tour of 88 concerts, in the United States and then around the world, which takes him from private homes to classrooms, from opulent living rooms to “much more modest residences, sometimes in front of 15 people, sometimes in front of 60”he recalls.
Educational projects
The adventure passes through India and Japan, and, more surprisingly, through Antarctica and Afghanistan, when the regime had “a little relaxed following a period, unfortunately returned today, when music was prohibited. I understood then all that she represented and how dehumanizing her absence was.assure Kimball Gallagher.
From close contact with such diverse audiences arises the desire to help train future generations of musicians. It was first in Tunisia, from 2011 in the followingmath of the “Arab Spring”, and more recently in Senegal that the NGO “88 International”, which he founded, is committed to developing its educational projects. “We would like to encourage the creativity of young people who are just waiting to make their voices heard! Simply, we must break with the idea of the student who, like an empty glass, waits for the wisdom of the master to deign to fill it. This paternalistic and authoritarian attitude inhibits rather than encourages. »
Entrepreneur of his own talent
Thus, new performers or composers who did not know each other – or dared not express themselves – come together in clubs, “organize concerts, their logistics, their management, their communication and, of course, their program. They thus become true entrepreneurs of their own talent”rejoices Kimball Gallagher.
This Monday, June 12, at Salle Gaveau, the pianist will be surrounded by Tunisian and Senegalese virtuosos, including the nay player (oriental flute) Ahmed Litaiem and the singer and kora player (string instrument) Magou Samb. Together, they will happily cross borders and combine in the same evening “the art of interpretation and improvisation techniques, written classical music and oral tradition”.
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