Haguenauer goes solo at Covenant

The September 2006 concert by the American Chamber Players at Covenant College must have been memorable.

Reviewer Libby O’Neil described it as “an evening of particular beauty” in the student newspaper.

Dr. Timothy Steele singled out the pianist, Jean-Louis Haguenauer, with these words: “I think you heard the best pianist in chamber music.”

Tonight, Haguenauer returns for a solo set for the third season of the Covenant Arts series.

His program will include works by Debussy and transcriptions of Schubert by other composers.

“Debussy is very important in my life,” he said in a phone interview earlier this week. “I have performed his entire repertoire for the piano and recorded most of it too.”

The French composer is a particular favorite for Haguenauer, a native of France. “He’s one of the people who opened our ears to new aspects of music in the early 20th century,” Haguenauer said. “He developed some kind of new vocabulary for musicians in a very subtle and refined way. I am very fond of that.”

Haguenauer was professor of piano at the Strasbourg Conservatory in France before accepting a position at Indiana University nine years ago. He was presenting a master class at the university when officials offered a one-year visiting position.

“We liked each other, and I just stayed,” he said.

The international nature of the campus greatly appeals to him, said Haguenauer, who speaks French, English and a little Spanish.

“We have not just American students but students from all over the world,” he said. “That’s one of the things I have enjoyed most here: the variety of musical profiles among the faculty and students.

“Although I am a teacher, I have learned a lot from my colleagues’ diverse musical experiences.”