Recital in Honour of Their Majesties King Harald V and
Queen Sonja of the Kingdom of Norway on the Occasion
of the Bicentennial of the Birth of Chopin 

Rideau Hall, Monday, March 1, 2010

My husband Jean-Daniel Lafond and I are delighted to welcome you to Rideau Hall this evening, on the bicentennial of Chopin's birth.

Your Majesties, we wanted to find a special way to return the warm hospitality you showed us last year, when my husband and I, and the Canadian delegation accompanying us, made a State visit to Norway, a country that is so near to us, by virtue of both our nordicity and our values.

You accompanied us every step of the way throughout our visit, from Oslo to Tromsø, for which we are so very grateful.

Your Majesty King Harald, one thing I will never forget is how I noticed you tapping your foot when the hip-hop group Queendom lit up the stage during the Youth Dialogue we held at the Intercultural Museum in Oslo.

Well, tonight, our hearts will be beating to the rhythm of the Polonaise-Fantaisie, études and ballades by Chopin.

This goes to show that music has the power to transcend all borders, including those between cultures and generations.

Frédéric Chopin mastered that power wonderfully, and he left a legacy of music that continues to enchant us.

A music “both stormy and smooth, discreet and passionate, strong and formidable,” as expressed so eloquently by one of his compatriots, Ignace Paderewski, the celebrated pianist who the Canadian poet Émile Nelligan said “made the soul of the great Chopin resonate.”

Tonight this music will be interpreted for us by Pierre Jasmin, an immensely talented Quebec pianist who is renowned on major stages in Canada and throughout the world, and is also the president of the organization Artistes pour la paix.

Thanks to Pierre Jasmin’s skillful fingers, the soul of Chopin will “resonate” through the piano of the great Glen Gould, which we have the privilege of safeguarding here in Rideau Hall.

He will bring out the exceptional sensitivity of Chopin, whose story, from his Polish homeland to his adopted France, never ceases to captivate us.

Thank you, Mr Jasmin, for the moments of happiness you will bring to us.

And may you, Your Majesties, find in this recital the expression of the deep friendship that unites Canada and Norway.

And now, it’s time for Chopin:  time for music!