LUKAS GENIUSAS Piano Recital / Review

LUKAS GENIUSAS Piano Recital

Victoria Concert Hall

Thursday (19 October 2023)

 

It seemed strange to have had Anna Geniushene and Lukas Geniusas perform within two weeks of each other in Singapore, in separate solo piano recitals presented by two different presenters. The wife-and-husband pairing might have made for a superb two-piano recital. Being unlucky to have missed Geniushene’s solo recital (6 October) due to a conflicting concert, I had to make sure not to forego Geniusas’ recital, having seen attended his performances at Schloss vor Husum (Germany, 2017 & 2018) and Esplanade (2018), the last when he performed Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody with the SSO under Charles Dutoit.  

 

Lithuanian-Russian pianist Lukas Geniusas, runner-up in the 2010 Chopin and 2015 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competitions, opened his recital with a rarity. Schubert’s Minuet in C sharp minor (D.600) was once thought to be a missing third movement from an uncompleted sonata. It is a quietly charming miniature accompanied by soft left hand octaves, which could have been mistaken for a neo-Baroque dance from hyphenated Handel or Bach. Geniusas’ sensitivity in touch and tone made this a perfect prelude to Schubert’s Four Impromptus (Op.142).

 

From Geniusas, one got nothing less than seamless singing vocal lines and unfailing natural musicality. The first two impromptus breezed through effortlessly, but true tests came in the famous B flat major Theme and Variations (No.3) which could get fussy at times, and the Hungarian-flavoured F minor No.4, which required a fair degree of barnstorming. There were a few slipped notes but these did little to mar the impression of fine musicianship.

 

The second half was devoted to the original version of Rachmaninov’s rarely-heard Sonata No.1 in D minor (Op.28). Its rarity is well-founded, being the far longer, more blustery and thornier of the Russian’s two sonatas. Whoever knew there was even an earlier version? This was the edition premiered by Konstantin Igumnov in 1908, after which over 100 bars were excised to get the version we are now familiar with. Geniusas found the original score in a Moscow archive two years ago and has championed it, having also made a world premiere recording on the Mirare label. The programme booklet, probably written by some Music Elective Programme (MEP) student, made no mention of this nor its Faustian inspiration and narrative which so captivated Rachmaninov. (One certainly misses Lionel Choi’s knowing and erudite programme notes on such occasions.)

 

The small audience (which could not have numbered over 200 people) got to witness a Singapore premiere. And it was truly epic. Any pianist who would even dream of attempting this sonata will be armed with a formidable arsenal of technique and endurance. Geniusas possesses these in abundance and more. This version was distended to some 45 minutes, with the excesses limited to the first and third movements. Only the Gretchen-inspired central slow movement was spared cuts.

 

Following with score in hand, Geniusas hardly missed a note and one marvelled at the effort expended in the extra bars which came at the end of the first movement’s development. One might refer to this as a extended recapitulation. Does it work? Yes, but only in the right hands. Geniusas made the loads of original notes, which do not present new material or themes, sound convincing rather than superfluous.

 

Similarly, the finale had its extras past the midway mark, and Geniusas’ totally emphatic account was just as valid and a wonder to behold. One understands why Igumnov and Rachmaninov chose to excise all these bars (the accusation of being repetitious and note-spinning among the reasons), which is to spare the already beleaguered pianist further knotty knolls to scale. Having heard superb performances by Kun Woo Paik, Albert Tiu (twice!), Vadym Kholodenko and Zlata Chochieva, I am happy to add Geniusas to this hallowed list of great artists.

 

The cheering audience at its blistering and hell-for-leather conclusion proved that Geniusas made his point, and some. His encores of Godowsky’s Alt Wien (from Triakontameron) and Rachmaninov’s transcription of Mussorsgky’s Gopak from Sorochintsy Fair with fair dollops of rubato, were further icing on a more than well-baked cake.

Lukas Geniusas was presented by Finger Waltz Music Productions. 

With memories from Husum,
where Geniusas performed music by
Hindemith, Hahn, Desyatnikov and Arzoumanov.
Photo: Wu Yang