CD Review | 109 ans de piano (Continuo Classics, 2023)

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109 ans de piano
Colette Maze, piano; Bertrand Cazé, guitar and arrangements
Continuo Classics, June 2023

Colette Maze, the oldest recording pianist in the world, released a final album before she died at the end of 2023. As her seventh recording project, 109 ans de piano offers a glimpse into what more than 100 years of practice and training sounds like.

The slower tempo, repetitive patterns, and strong reverb of Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence emphasize the style of performance over the piece’s melody. The listener can hear Maze play with intention, the force of her notes communicating a confidence in both her instrument and execution. She offers excellent accompaniment to Cazé’s guitar, sometimes emphasizing dissonant notes to keep listeners on their toes. As the first track of the album, this sets a celebratory tone, complemented by a certain melancholy—there is a lot to be admired, especially in its flaws.

Maze continues with performances of works by Debussy, Piazzolla, and Gershwin, which offer a refreshing, confrontational tone. The rest of the album is dedicated to Robert Schumann’s Scènes d’enfants, which allows the pianist to play with faster tempos and demonstrate her skills as a soloist. Maze never fails to impress.

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