While Deauville festivals are normally devoted to chamber music, to collective practice as they say in conservatories, the concert begins with a mini piano recital by a new talent, the very young Gabriel Durliat, barely 22 years old. The boy shows exceptional maturity. It begins with a rarely performed piece taken from Claude Debussy's Tombeau (1920), participation by Paul Dukas (1865‑1935) in a collective tribute paid at the initiative of the Revue musicale by ten different composers to the great composer who died in 1918 The influence of Debussy is naturally obvious, but in fact as much as the originality and modernity of the writing of Dukas, who is definitely not the author of a single work, The Sorcerer's Apprentice. The performer knows how to bring out the ineffable side, the unwavering ostinato of the left hand describing a sort of death knell reflecting immeasurable pain.

The Thirteenth Nocturne by Gabriel Fauré (1845‑1924) which follows is almost a relief and allows us to cling a little to life. Gabriel Durliat shows that he knows how to change universes. His touch is of a subtlety which impresses in an artist of such youth. In his arrangement of the last piece of the Requiem by the same Fauré, he finally demonstrates an unusual distinction, leaving plenty of room for contemplation. It’s the revelation of the evening and perhaps of the festival. The musical director of the Deauville chamber music festivals for almost thirty years, the tireless Yves Petit de Voize, was right to present this artist, even though his recital was not planned when the concert program was unveiled, end of April. We hope to see him again next year.

Stéphane Guy