Virtuoso Hershey Felder takes us on his own personal journey as he explores the life and music of Impressionist composer Claude Debussy. From the sweeping La mer to the evocative L’après-midi d’un faune and the mystical Clair de lune, this soaring tribute will never be forgotten.
HERSHEY FELDER: A PARIS LOVE STORY
Critics
LemonMeter
Reviews: 11
Reviews
Hershey Felder does it again! This time he magically transforms into one of the greatest French composers Claude Debussy.
Felder truly takes his audience on a journey through his own early walks down the streets of the composer's life in Paris. Thus, we are treated to the personal observations of both men who describe the City of Light's wondrously romantic settings from The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame and its Point Zero, to a walk through The Tuileries Garden, down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triumph, and on to the composer's home near the Bois de Boulogne. And since I have personally taken that very same walk, my own fond memories returned as Debussy's glorious music filled my very soul with the eternal power of his magical music of love.
What is so remarkable about Hershey Felder’s matchless talent is how he weaves everything together, including the music and the biography of his subjects, to create an effervescent tapestry of a composer’s life. As he reveals the legacy of Claude Debussy in Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story, something new happens as well. For the first time, Felder’s revelations are deeply personal as well. There is something exhilarating about those moments when the curtain is pulled back and Felder’s own life is bared. Given such an intimate opportunity, Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story is a highlight of the summer season that should not be missed.
His latest show is perhaps his most striking and personal because of the effect Debussy had on Felder’s own life, and that of his mother, who died when he was thirteen. As Felder describes it, their lives were intertwined and it makes for a fascinating, and incredibly moving, night of theater.
In relaying the life of Claude Debussy, Felder, as is his norm, intersperses his story with his outstanding piano performances of the beautiful music by the composer.
What's the most eye-opening in actor/storyteller/pianist extraordinaire Hersey Felder’s revelations about composer Claude Dusussy was the man’s passion for the natural world around him despite the horrors of a world at war, so clearly influencing the genius of his art as he tirelessly attempted to conjure “musique that only engaged with nature,” creating notes that would evoke the sounds of water flowing, butterflies gracefully floating through the breeze, and the citizens of his beloved Paris walking through the streets of his city.
In Felder’s hands the portrait of Debussy becomes clearer and stronger over the course of his 90-minute show.
This show is typical of the caliber of productions at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The use of video on a back screen brilliantly accompanies the enthralling and rapturous music, making this production a must see. This show is for aficionado and novice alike, far and wide, anyone who truly appreciates fine art, music, and the work of one of the most distinguished composers of all time.
As actor, storyteller and pianist, Felder takes command with inviting ease. Audiences listen, even when he’s explaining and demonstrating Debussy’s revolutionary use of whole tone or pentatonic scales, or showing us how to differentiate between a perfect 4th, and an augmented 4th unresolved.
Felder achieves beautiful moments, and the sincerity of the work is nothing other than staggering.
This latest showcase by Hershey Felder brings upon a new light to the music that is moody and hosts color that one can hear as much as “see”. It’s the form of melody where Hershey states is the kind that can one also feel less afraid.
Hershey Felder does it again! This time he magically transforms into one of the greatest French composers Claude Debussy.
Felder truly takes his audience on a journey through his own early walks down the streets of the composer's life in Paris. Thus, we are treated to the personal observations of both men who describe the City of Light's wondrously romantic settings from The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame and its Point Zero, to a walk through The Tuileries Garden, down the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triumph, and on to the composer's home near the Bois de Boulogne. And since I have personally taken that very same walk, my own fond memories returned as Debussy's glorious music filled my very soul with the eternal power of his magical music of love.
What is so remarkable about Hershey Felder’s matchless talent is how he weaves everything together, including the music and the biography of his subjects, to create an effervescent tapestry of a composer’s life. As he reveals the legacy of Claude Debussy in Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story, something new happens as well. For the first time, Felder’s revelations are deeply personal as well. There is something exhilarating about those moments when the curtain is pulled back and Felder’s own life is bared. Given such an intimate opportunity, Hershey Felder: A Paris Love Story is a highlight of the summer season that should not be missed.
His latest show is perhaps his most striking and personal because of the effect Debussy had on Felder’s own life, and that of his mother, who died when he was thirteen. As Felder describes it, their lives were intertwined and it makes for a fascinating, and incredibly moving, night of theater.
In relaying the life of Claude Debussy, Felder, as is his norm, intersperses his story with his outstanding piano performances of the beautiful music by the composer.
What's the most eye-opening in actor/storyteller/pianist extraordinaire Hersey Felder’s revelations about composer Claude Dusussy was the man’s passion for the natural world around him despite the horrors of a world at war, so clearly influencing the genius of his art as he tirelessly attempted to conjure “musique that only engaged with nature,” creating notes that would evoke the sounds of water flowing, butterflies gracefully floating through the breeze, and the citizens of his beloved Paris walking through the streets of his city.
In Felder’s hands the portrait of Debussy becomes clearer and stronger over the course of his 90-minute show.
This show is typical of the caliber of productions at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The use of video on a back screen brilliantly accompanies the enthralling and rapturous music, making this production a must see. This show is for aficionado and novice alike, far and wide, anyone who truly appreciates fine art, music, and the work of one of the most distinguished composers of all time.
As actor, storyteller and pianist, Felder takes command with inviting ease. Audiences listen, even when he’s explaining and demonstrating Debussy’s revolutionary use of whole tone or pentatonic scales, or showing us how to differentiate between a perfect 4th, and an augmented 4th unresolved.
Felder achieves beautiful moments, and the sincerity of the work is nothing other than staggering.
This latest showcase by Hershey Felder brings upon a new light to the music that is moody and hosts color that one can hear as much as “see”. It’s the form of melody where Hershey states is the kind that can one also feel less afraid.