Yves Nat - Repertoire and Reputation

Repertoire and Reputation

His repertoire particularly covered the works of Schubert, Schumann and Brahms. Between 1951 and 1955, he recorded all 32 of the Beethoven piano sonatas. For a French pianist of his age, this recorded repertoire was unusual. Most French pianists who developed artistically in the years during and after the First World War tended to champion French composers and to avoid the staple German repertoire. No recordings survive of Nat's extensive French repertoire.

Nat's strong technique and rich sonority suited the larger-scale Beethoven sonatas admirably. However, he was far from a bravura pianist - indeed, although his concerto has some formidable technical difficulties, it avoids the classic virtuoso approach, and instead tries to be what Nat himself described in a radio interview as a concerto for piano within the orchestra. He summed up his approach as Tout pour la musique; rien pour le piano, which might be translated as "it's not at all for the piano, it's all for the music'.

His compositions reveal a composer who has a talent for framing simple melodic lines in imaginative harmonies, best illustrated by the slow movement of his piano concerto. His orchestral style is reminiscent of the style of Ravel, with a notable fondness for percussion instruments.

Beside the concerto and solo piano works, he composed chamber music and an oratorio.