CD Review: NIGHT AT THE OPERA (PART 1) by Brian Keng-Lun Hsu

NIGHT AT THE OPERA: PART 1

Brian Keng-Lun Hsu, Piano

Blue Griffin Recording 469

 

Long before the advent of internet, radio or recordings of any kind, transcriptions were a means where music may be shared with a wider audience without access to live concerts. The piano, ubiquitous in nineteenth and early twentieth households, was the ideal medium for learning and appreciation of the classics. Piano virtuosos often wrote transcriptions for publication, making a tidy profit from sheet sales even if their intended targets were nowhere near technically equipped.  

 

Taiwanese-American pianist Brian Hsu’s first volume of operatic piano transcriptions is a mix of the popular and the obscure, but almost every melody contained is a recognisable one. He opens with the familiar Giovanni Sgambati transcription of Gluck’s Melodie from Orfeo ed Euridice, in a poignantly beautiful reading, then continuing into three rarities which deserve to be better known.

Yvar Mikhashoff

 

The American virtuoso pianist-composer Yvar Mikhashoff (1941-1993), pseudonym of Ronald MacKay, was an institution in the University of Buffalo until his untimely death from AIDS. Hsu performs three of his most popular opera transcriptions including Puccini’s Vissi d’arte (from Tosca) and Bellini’s Casta Diva (Norma). The famous melodies are gloriously retained and in the latter, a virtuosic cadenza a la Franz Liszt is spun in the best bel canto tradition.

 

The real find is Portrait of Madama Butterfly, an “operatic sonata-fantasy in four parts” dishing up moments encapsulating its passion and ultimate tragedy. Familiar highlights like Un bel di vedremo and the Love Duet are not included, but there is time for the Flower Duet and Humming Chorus. Hsu’s performance of these are evocative and finely turned, easily comparable to those in Jean-Yves Thibaudet’s 2007 album Aria: Opera Without Words (Decca).

 

On more familiar territory, Liszt’s Rigoletto Paraphrase (Verdi) receives an excellent performance. Hsu’s reading of Reminiscences de Don Juan (Mozart), at over 20 minutes, is one of the more unhurried accounts of this blockbuster fantasy, up there with the likes of Jorge Bolet’s late 1970s recording (Decca). Louis Lortie (Chandos, 15 mins) and Olga Kern (Harmonia Mundi, 16 mins) may be swifter and more thrilling, but Hsu has a gripping hold on the music’s pulse and does not miss a beat or note. There is never a dull moment.

 

A Night at the Opera may be the title of a Marx brothers movie, but Hsu’s album is no joke, and Volume Two is keenly awaited.

You can purchase this CD here:

Night At The Opera - Part I — Brian Keng - Lun Hsu (brian-hsu.com)

TWO PIANO RECITAL / Brian Hsu & Nellie Seng / Review

TWO PIANO RECITAL

Brian Hsu & Nellie Seng, 2 Pianos

Lee Foundation Theatre, NAFA

Thursday (3 November 2022)

 

You know that the pandemic is over when there are concerts to catch every day of the week. This is just the beginning of a most hectic schedule of concerts of the post-Covid season. Many events involve international soloists, the definite sign that international travel has resumed with a vengeance. This evening saw a very enjoyable two-piano recital of Russian music at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, given by Taiwanese-American pianist Brian Hsu (presently based in New Orleans) and Nellie Seng, head of piano studies at the NAFA School of Music.

Nellie related how foreign students in USA
spent their Thanksgiving weekend holidays,
by keeping each other company,
almost breaking into tears in the process!

 

Opening with Rachmaninov’s Fantasy for two pianos Op.5 (also known as Suite No.1), one could feel the chemistry between the duo who were once classmates at the Juilliard School, specifically in the studio of Jerome Lowenthal. The Barcarolle was taken at moderate pace, with time enough for the filigreed ornaments to be properly savoured. Slow movements such as this and The Night... The Love that followed could fatally drag, but this was not allowed to happen. Instead the nightingales came to roost, building up to a rapturous climax.  

 

Tears, the third movement, was also slow, built upon an ostinato of four descending notes. This too was well-paced and did not linger without bringing out hand-wringing pathos. The brief Russian Easter, arguably Rachmaninov’s most representative bell piece, pealed rowdily and joyously to close the work. His Suite No.2, more varied in colour and mood, has greater appeal but that does not diminish this fine earlier effort.  

 

The recital’s highlight was a rare performance of Nikolai Medtner’s Two Pieces Op.58, last heard in Singapore at the 2003 Singapore International Piano Festival played by Dmitri Alexeev and Nikolai Demidenko. Its rarity is well-founded, as Medtner does not readily wear his heart on his sleeve, unlike his good friend Rachmaninov. Medtner’s subtlety and penchant for counterpoint may prove a hindrance to popularity, and it is also fiendishly tricky for performers. However, if one persevered, the rewards are immense as Nellie and Brian’s performance proved.

 

The shorter Russian Round Dance skipped lightly and effortlessly. Sometimes referred to as a skazka (fairy tale), it had a rustic folk-like quality that was endearing, completed with upward glissandi on both keyboards at its end. More complex is Knight Errant, first cousin to Medtner’s March of the Paladin (Op.14 No.2), which is rhythmically sophisticated, and made more arduous with a fast-running fugue at its centre. Despite its thorns and brambles, the duo had a field day, lapping up its challenges with splendid aplomb. It is hoped that 19 years would not have to pass before these are heard again.

 

Completing the evening was the very familiar Stravinsky Three Pieces from Petrushka, staple of piano competitions, but in its more filled-in version for four hands. With the division of labour between two pianists, it is less daunting than the solo version. However, both pianists have to work very hard as two halves of one brain. Brian played the primo part, which was flashier, ably supported by Nellie’s secondo,  providing the rich harmonies and rhythmic impetus.

 

The Russian Dance romped home in break-neck speed - which is always thrilling - while Petrushka’s Room showcased the juiciest harmonies (including that grating Petrushka chord) that sealed Stravinsky’s notoriety. The Shrovetide Fair had the right hustle and bustle, building up a good head of steam with its procession of folk dances. There was a brief moment of desynchronisation and an odd bum chord but that did nothing to derail an imperious reading that took no prisoners.

 

One would have loved an encore or two, given loud cheers from an enthused audience, but spare a thought for both pianists. It was darned hard work performed without a break, but a solid 70 minutes well spent.