Richard Clayderman concert, May 7, 2025

Tom and I saw Richard Clayderman in concert on May 7, 2025. I have access to occasional free tickets to concerts at a local theater and this seemed like a concert that would be a fascinating cultural outing, also something that was unlikely to be a hot ticket, and therefore available for a giveaway.

Richard Clayderman was a pianist pop star in the 70s and 80s, sort of a Liberace for a later generation but styled in a more relatable and less sequin-infested manner. I was aware of him in the 80s but thought he was grodie even back then. I was fascinated that he was still working and that his tour was coming to New York - - his career at its peak seemed to be centered in Europe and Asia.

The concert was with a group of string players billed as the Florida Chamber Orchestra. They were six violins, four violists, and two cellists. That doesn't take a very big chamber! I guess it was good that he had live musicians performing with him because the bulk of the music (apart from him) was on a pre-recorded track. Something I'm not sure I've been before in a classical-adjacent concert.

I thought the audience might be the more entertaining aspect of the show but they weren't so impressive. Though the guy ahead of us at least had a memorable look: he was a white dude in his 60s wearing a plaid suit in a peculiar shade of brown mustard. He also had long grey and white dreadlocks, down to his waist. It was what Tim Gunn would call "a whole lotta look."

Clayderman is still cute (he's now 72). His hair is still blond, still styled in the same way. We wore a purple sport coat, a black mock turtleneck, and black slacks. The mock turtleneck felt very 90s I guess to someone rooted in the 80s it might seem <<au courant.>>

The first song was a knock-off of "I Had the Time Of My Life." Like that song needs a knock-off. The video screen was engaged for the second song and remained on for the rest of the show. It was a treat seeing Clayderman's hands, though the video was about half a second behind the audio. I should mention that Clayderman's playing sounded thin and tinny to my ear, but I guess, to paraphrase a favorite line from Clueless, looking for a warm, cushioned tone and musical artistry in a Richard Clayderan concert is like looking for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie.

The second song, an anonymous ballad, was accompanied on the video screen by an abstract animation of pale grey lines branching out from a center line, like a ribcage, and sensuous red ribbons curling around it. Maybe it's because I had watched Dead Ringers the other night, but it had a strong whiff of David Cronenberg. Not what I was expecting.

He did the theme from Chariots of Fire with scenes from the movie on the screen. It made me want to see the movie again. He did a medley from Phantom of the Opera with scenes from that movie, which I definitely do NOT need to see again.

The audience hooted and cheered when they played the opening to his first and biggest hit, "Ballade pour Adeline."

He spoke a little bit after that. His voice is somewhat high and tender, as cute as he is. He spoke in maybe four languages...? I think one of them was English. His manner of speaking, stage behavior, acknowledgment of applause seemed well studied and somewhat petrified, but still effective.

He started a number and I thought it was "The Fifth of Beethoven" but then (with a gasp) I realized it was "Hooked on Classics"! Which I had on LP back in the day. I was simultaneously elated and nauseous.

He did a cute up-tempo sort of Leroy Anderson number that involved him ringing a bell, the type that a hotel desk clerk uses to call over a bellboy in an old Hollywood movie. Clayderman gave the bell a bow.

He introduced the next number, I think it might have been the only time he spoke before a number rather than after (and he probably only spoke about four or five times). He was a little evasive about the subject of the next medley but then we all realized it was centered on Titanic - - it was his own arrangements of music from the movie, which he called (go ahead and groan) "The Titanic Symphony." This was accompanied by still photos from the movie, a visual guided tour through the whole film. Not CLIPS from the movie but still photos given the Ken Burns Effect (lots of zooming in and out, panning across, etc, giving the illusion of movement). I imagine they paid less for using photos from the movie but would have had to pay big bucks to use film clips.

The antidote to that was a generic up tempo number. The audience was encouraged to clap in rhythm. Never a good idea. The video was an animation of a giraffe doing aerobics. Never a good idea.

He did a medley of music from the movies: Star Wars, Once Upon a Time in America, Mission Impossible, various James Bonds, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Professional, and Pirates of the Caribbean. A strange collection of movies.

Other songs: "America" from West Side Story, the Skater's Waltz, and "Love is Blue," which gave me more elated nausea.

He ended with a medley of songs about Paris, his hometown.

My final word: I wouldn't say the concert was better than I expected but I definitely enjoyed it more than I expected. It made me think of the 2005 remake of House of Wax starring Paris Hilton - - good for what it is. No illusions that it was High Art but knew what it was out to accomplish and delivered on those terms.