Duo Ykeda

This was more than an encounter, it started off with the cultural shock between two civilisations. Tamayo Ikeda had just arrived from Japan, straight out of a traditional upbringing when she met at the Paris Conservatoire a young man from a good family in Bordeaux called Patrick Zygmanowski. Tamayo was struggling to decipher the codes of this new country and did not speak French, whereas Patrick had complete command of all the nuances which facilitate moving around in society. Music was therefore their first shared language which Patrick, by his own admission, used unsparingly to cross the language and cultural barriers which separated him from Tamayo. This first victory proved easier than the second. Convincing their respective families of the viability of their relationship required a great deal of finesse and many meetings on different continents. In response to the understandable concern of their parents over this great leap into the unknown, they displayed the calm confidence drawn from their first attempts to play music together. Admittedly they came from completely different backgrounds but they shared the same universe at the keyboard.Twenty years later, Patrick and Tamayo are certainly still as different as they were on the first day they met. Patrick has adopted some Japanese customs on a daily basis, Tamayo speaks French and at home local Bordeaux dishes accompany traditional sushi. However they have each retained their respective identities, particularly at the piano. Tamayo’s mode of expression is based on unspoken emotion, a conscious dream, intuition, a sure instinct which makes her an astonishing and mysterious musician. Patrick is more intellectual and needs to delve into scores in order to analyse and expound them.
He is not merely a brilliant pianist. He composes, arranges, resolves the most complex problems for transposing major orchestral works for four hands or two pianos which he shares with Tamayo, on rare occasions in the privacy of the family. How indeed can two individuals who are so different seriously seek to perform in public together? And yet this idea has gained ground. The few friends who listen to them are amazed by the couple’s ability to combine their differences. This creates a unique balance, a very special alchemy which they have decided to explore. Patrick carefully chose the repertoire for the duet’s first concerts in order to avoid any comparison between them. The audience loves their keyboard acrobatics, their sense of humour, the superhuman perfection of their performances and the sheer showmanship of these piano jousts. Tamayo enthusiastically and confidently follows her turbulent husband. They then move on to the following, riskiest phase: leaving the orchestral world and entering the world of pure chamber music. Schubert challenges them and they immediately tackle the most difficult pieces which leave us completely exposed: the F minor Fantasy and the Hungarian divertimento. This time we imagine that it is Tamayo’s turn to take Patrick by the hand and help him explore music which she has often played solo and with which she is clearly familiar. And indeed her name has been chosen to sign the long-awaited official launch of the duet with a first CD dedicated to Franz Schubert.Arièle Butaux