Vanessa Wagner Completes Philip Glass Etudes Recording Ahead of Festival du Monde Concert

At 53, pianist Vanessa Wagner has completed recording the complete "Etudes" of Philip Glass in 2025, a project that marks a departure from the virtuoso grand repertoire. She is scheduled to perform at the Festival du Monde on September 19. The French pianist describes her approach as one in which the interpreter must accept an element of mystery within themselves. Her career has been marked by periods of doubt, and she appears to have finally found her place through this shift away from the traditional canon and toward a desacralization of the piano as the instrument-roi. The interview is part of Le Monde's weekly "L'Epoque" series, in which the publication pays for a drink with a cultural figure.