Great Performers: Marcelle Meyer
Marcelle Meyer (1897–1958) was one of the true originals of the piano. She was a pupil of the great French pianist Alfred Cortot, but also studied with Ricardo Viñes, who had premiered works by Debussy, Ravel, and Falla, thereby gaining deep insight into their style. When the 20-year-old Meyer played the premiere of Erik Satie's 'Parade' in 1917, not only did that composer come to adore her but so did his colleague Debussy, who would coach her on how to play his Préludes in the months prior to his death. When Ravel premiered the two-piano version of 'La Valse' for an audience of Poulenc, Stravinsky, and Diaghilev, it was Meyer who joined him at the second piano; Stravinsky hated the work but adored Meyer, booking her on the spot.
Read more…Meyer made a great many recordings from 1925 until 1957, first for HMV and then for the French label Les Discophiles Français. However, her vast discography of over 20 hours almost completely disappeared from the catalogue after her death at 61 in 1958. EMI France issued four double-LP albums in the 1980s and stunned critics marvelled at the fluid, elegant interpretations of Rameau, Scarlatti, Chabrier, and Ravel. Today she is recognized by pianophiles as one of the supreme artists of the 20th century, with her vast repertoire, exquisitely refined technique, and idiomatic interpretations.
Meyer recorded the first complete cycle of Rameau's keyboard works in 1953, as well as setting down some Couperin at a time when both of these composers were neglected; she breathed fresh life into these old scores with her bell-like sonority, vibrant rhythmic pulse, and fluid melodic phrasing that brings a singing quality to her trills and ornaments. Among her Bach discs were some premiere recordings, including the English Suite No. 4, filled with the same robust directness that she also brought to her readings of Scarlatti and Mozart.
While her discography lacks the standard Romantic repertoire (though she did indeed play Chopin, Liszt, and Schumann in concert), she did record some Schubert, which is the epitome of elegance. In French repertoire one is particularly awed by Meyer's divine music-making, her refined pedalling, crystalline textures, and supple phrasing serving her insightful, idiomatic readings. Her Chabrier is at once quirky and charming, her Debussy evocative, her Ravel sparkling and jewel-like (her 1954 Ravel cycle won a Grand Prix du Disque). Her Stravinsky varies from today's readings in its jazz-like nature – as do the composer's own performances. Her one HMV recording with orchestra, a 1943 account of the Strauss 'Burleske' – a work she performed with the composer in the 1920s – is intoxicating with its verve and lyrical beauty.
In three decades of recordings spanning three centuries of repertoire, Meyer brings unparalleled vitality and refinement to every performance, each note glistening like a diamond, every phrase subtly sculpted with the utmost refinement. A master pianist and unique musician, Marcelle Meyer is finally receiving the recognition she is due.