Preface

     Although an outstanding personality as an organist and composer, Jeanne Demessieux is a name not so familiar in the piano scenario of the 20th Century. However, since very young, she was praised in her time, not only for her enormous talent, but also for her extraordinary capacity to include very complex and virtuous works of the most varied styles in her repertoire, with strong emphasis on romantic composers, specially Chopin and Liszt. According to the Modern French School of Organ, this profile was seen as the ideal for the process of learning the instrument, that is, a formation in piano was indispensable for the formation of the organist, a position which was shared by other remarkable masters.
     Domitila Ballesteros provides us with an extremely original work by approaching the influence of the piano language, in Chopin and Liszt's studies, over the Six Études for the organ, written by Jeanne Demessieux. The methodology processes used in this investigation make it evident a precise and detailed analysis of the piano composition which is reflected in Demessieux's work, through ludic and convincing criteria. Taking into account the knowledge of the specific characteristics of both instruments, piano and organ, it was possible to demonstrate the transfiguration from one composition to the other, by means of a meticulous comparison.
     The correspondence and analogy of instrumental technique conceptions between piano and organ are deeply and skillfully explored, focusing, above all, the importance of the body balance of the organist and his commitment with the challenging and virtuous performance of the Six Études. Concretely, these are surprising revelations which lead the reader to think.
      A panorama of the history, literature and teaching of the piano and organ, instruments with so different technical and expressive characteristics but which, in a certain moment of the music history interlace to one another, offer precise fundamentals to the reader, enabling a better comprehension of the theme.
     It is important to highlight the lack of bibliography on the work of Jeanne Demessieux, what makes the contribution offered by this work even greater. Domitila Ballesteros renders a quality service to the musical research, by bringing up a new and interesting knowledge. For certain, this book not only attends the needs of the musicians, but also of those who appreciate the musical art, in general.

Miriam Grosman
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