Paul-André Bempéchat

Paul-André Bempéchat
Residence	Watertown, Massachusetts
Alma mater	The Juilliard School; Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV
Occupation	Concert Pianist and Historian
Years active	1980–present

Paul-André Bempéchat is a Franco-Italian concert pianist and musicologist based at Harvard University's Leverett House, where he is Artist-in-Residence.

Bempéchat has been widely acclaimed by colleagues and critics alike as one of the foremost interpreters of the First Viennese School, for his seminal biography of the eclectic Franco-Breton composer Jean Cras, Jean Cras, Polymath of Music and Letters (Ashgate, 2009), on whom he is the world authority. He is a product of The Juilliard School where he studied with Nadia Reisenberg, with Felix Galimir in chamber music and Martin Isepp in vocal accompanying; at the Manhattan School of Music, he worked with Artur Balsam in piano and chamber music.

Paul-André Bempéchat has concertized and lectured throughout Europe and North America and has performed at major concert halls, notably Berlin's Konzerthaus, Boston's Jordan Hall, Harvard's Sanders Theatre, Konserthus, Helsinki's Finlandia Hall, Hoftheater Meiningen, and London's Barbican Center; the Vienna, La Naudière, Holland and Husum Festivals, and conservatories and universities notably Harvard, Princeton, McGill, Uppsala, Sibelius-Academy Helsinki, Sorbonne, New York University, Carnegie Mellon, de Paul, University of Chicago). He has also recorded extensively for major broadcasting outlets either side the Atlantic.

Concurrent to his many appearances and lecture-recitals on Jean Cras, he is preparing Beethoven's 32 Piano Sonatas for Danacord Records, to be accompanied by a companion volume to the 8-CD set to be released for the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth in 2020.

Bempéchat's repertoire is conservative yet extensive and recondite, highlighting less-played works by major composers all the while highlighting works of Kleinmeisters. These insights have given his lecture-recitals, delivered also in French, German, Swedish and Italian, their unique caché.

2014-16 Programs:

Beethoven: Sonata in F minor, Opus 2, no. 1 Beethoven: Sonata in E-flat ("Les Adieux"), Opus 81a Chopin: The 24 Preludes, Opus 28

Beethoven: Sonata in F major, Opus 54 Beethoven: Sonata in A-flat major, Opus 110 Schumann: Fantasia in C major, Opus 17

2015-17 Concerti:

Mozart: C major, K. 415; B-flat major, K. 450; C major, K. 503 Brahms: Concerto in D minor, Opus 15

A prize-winning scholar, Bempéchat's work on Brittany's forgotten musical legacies has revived literatures which he has rendered canon to performers' repertoires.

Monographs and Edited Volumes

2015: Naturlauf: Scholarly Excursions Toward Gustav Mahler, Essays in Honour of Henry-Louis de La Grange at His 90th Birthday. Editor and Contributor. Bern: Peter Lang Publishing; in press. 2009: Jean Cras, Polymath of Music and Letters. Farnham (UK): Ashgate Publishing. 2005: Liber Amicorum Isabelle Cazeaux: Symbols, Parallels and Discoveries in Her Honor. Editor and contributor. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press.

Selected Articles

Peer-Reviewed

2011: “Felix Mendelssohn’s Reformation Symphony and the Culture of Assimilation,” in Harvard University Center for European Studies Working Papers Series; online, at http://ces.fas.harvard.edu/publications/OpenForum/CES_OFWP_6_Bempechat.pdf. 25 pp. 2011: “The Location of Mendelssohn’s Culture: Religious Counterpoint, Confusion and Synthesis in the Reformation Symphony,” in Ars Lyrica 19, pp. 27–56. 2010: “The Abergavenny Eisteddfod of 1838 and the Birth of Barzaz Breiz,” in Ars Lyrica Celtica (Ars Lyrica 17), pp. 97–129. 2004: “Classic - Celtic - Eclectic: The Harp Compositions of Pierick Houdy,” in American Harp Journal, Summer 2004, Vol. 19, No. 3; pp. 9–15. 2003: “Allons, enfants de quelle patrie ? Breton Nationalism and the French Impressionist Aesthetic,” Harvard University Center for European Studies Working Papers Series, 2003; http://www.ces.fas.harvard.edu/working_papers/bempechat.pdf. 24 pp. 2002: “Narrating the Symbol: Jean Cras’ Legacy of Song,” in Ars Lyrica 12, pp. 3-70. 2001: “Where Formalism Meets Folklore: Jean Cras’ ‘Trio pour cordes (1925),’” American String Teacher, May 2001, Vol. 51, No. 2, pp. 74-81. 2001: “The Choral Works of Jean Cras,” The Choral Journal, February 2001, Vol. 41, No. 7, pp. 9–16. 2000: “An Admiral of Music: Jean Cras’ Chamber Music for Strings,” The Strad, London, October 2000, Vol.111, No. 1326, pp.1096-1100. 1998: “Jean Cras and Albert Samain: Parallels and Paradoxes in the Genesis of Polyphème,” The Opera Journal, March 1998, Vol. XXXI/1, pp. 3–17. 1998: “Inside Jean Cras' Musical Laboratory: An African Diary in Music and Letters: The Genesis of His ‘Suite en Duo' for Flute and Harp (1928),’” American Harp Journal, Winter 1998, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 7-14. 1998: “A Rediscovered Masterpiece: Jean Cras' ‘Deux Impromptus pour harpe (1925),’” American Harp Journal, Summer 1998, Vol.16, No. 3, pp. 5-10.

Proceedings Articles (Peer-Reviewed)

2009: “The Breton Compositions of Jean Cras,” in Proceedings of the 23rd Harvard Celtic Colloquium. 2008: “Toward a Breton Musical Patrimony: Symbiosis and Synthesis of the Folkloric, the Classical and the Impressionistic,” in Proceedings of the 22nd Harvard Celtic Colloquium.

Encyclopedia Articles

2011: “Lori Laitman,” in The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. 2001: “Jean Cras,” in Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG). 2001: “Jean Cras,” in The Revised New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2001: “Max d’Ollone,” in The Revised New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Miscellaneous Articles

2005: “Ravel Writes to Jean Cras,” in Liber Amicorum Isabelle Cazeaux: Pendragon Press (Hillsdale, NY), pp. 365–376. 2005: “Fair Winds and Following Seas: Jean Cras’ Symphonic Autobiography, ‘Journal de bord (1927),’ ” in Liber Amicorum Isabelle Cazeaux, Pendragon Press (Hillsdale, NY), pp. 443-457. 2000: “Naval Hero—Novel Voice: The Piano Works of Jean Cras,” Piano & Keyboard 206, September–October 2000, pp. 47–55. 2000: “Recent Repertoire Discoveries from France: Jean Cras’ ‘Sonate (1900)’ and ‘Légende (1929)’” for the Internet Cello Society: http://www.cello.org. (ca.) 10 pp.

Works in Progress

Recordings

2014-2022: Ludwig van Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas, annual release of one of eight compact discs. DANACORD Records, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Recent Performances

Harvard University: annual recital at The Memorial Church, April 2014

Harvard University: recital at the House Masters’ Residence, Leverett House, April 2014

Lycée français de Boston et Cambridge: Fundraising recital, April 2014

Fairmont State University, West Virginia, December: Mozart, K. 503; music history lectures

Clarksburg, West Virginia, November 2013: Recital for the Clarksburg-Harrison Cultural Foundation

Centre culturel d’Olivet, France: Recital, October 2013

Université de Paris-Sorbonne: Lecture on Jean Cras, June 2013

Institut Universitaire Elie Wiesel, Paris: May–June 2013; six lectures on Jewish composers of the 19th century

Princeton, New Jersey: 11 November 2012: Recital for The Steinway Society

Helsinki, Finland: 8–10 October 2012: Lecture-recital and masterclass at the Sibelius Academy

Uppsala, Sweden: 4–6 October 2012: Recital, lecture-recital and masterclass at the University

Husum, Germany: 19 August 2012: Lecture-recital at the Festival Klavier Raritäten

Paris, France: 20 June 2012: Fundraising recital for La Maison verte, which protects at-risk children

Princeton, New Jersey: 1 April 2012: Mozart, Concerto in C major, K. 415, Princeton University Chamber Ensemble

Princeton, New Jersey: 4 December 2011: Schubert-Liszt Recital, Unitararian-Universalist Congregation

St. Francis College, Brooklyn, New York: 21 November 2011: Mendelssohn-Liszt-Chopin-Schumann Recital, St. Francis College

Principal Awards and Fellowships

2013: The Austrian-American Association of Boston. 2010-2013: The REC Foundation, St. Louis, MO. 2008: John Anson Kittredge Educational Fund, Cambridge, MA. 2007: Halcrow Yolles Foundation, Toronto. 2004: Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts, Grant for Consultancy in Arts Education 1997: Winner of the National Opera Association's annual Scholarly Papers Competition for “Jean Cras and Albert Samain: Parallels and Paradoxes in the Genesis of ‘Polyphme’”