Yvonne Loriod: It snaps, roars, gongs and tremolos

Yvonne Loriod was known publicly as a celebrated pianist, but conductor Kent Nagano discovered another side of her work after her death: a body of compositions he regarded as extraordinary.

Nagano found the material in a Paris archive in 2010, the year Loriod died. The discovery transformed his understanding of the musician he had known as a young conductor and with whom he had once spent a year as a student.

He remembers living in Loriod’s spacious apartment in central Paris, sharing meals with her and her husband, the composer Olivier Messiaen. Loriod cooked for them, discussed music with him and taught him languages. Her lessons included a particular emphasis on swear words. Nagano also recalls her becoming a furious driver, a vivid contrast to her otherwise reserved public image.

Speaking quietly and dressed inconspicuously, Nagano tells these stories with the wonder of someone who has only just experienced them. The questions surrounding Loriod’s hidden compositions, including the importance of “La Sainte Face,” form the central mystery of the account.