SOUNDBITES: THE ART
OF ENCORE
PHILIP FOWKE Piano
Recital
Yong Siew Toh
Conservatory
Orchestral Hall
Wednesday (17
February 2016)
This review was published in The Straits Times on 19 February 2016 with the title "The encore makes or breaks the concert".
The
most anticipated moment of a concert can sometimes take place after the event
itself, when the performer chooses to perform encores. Selecting what to play
can make or break a recital, as veteran
British concert pianist Philip Fowke explained in his hour-long lecture-recital
at the Conservatory.
This
is a stratagem of performance psychology that may redeem a recital that has not
gone as well as an artist had intended, and often turns an audience from an
indifferent one into something far more positive. It is also the “art of the
miniature”, as short and rarely heard morsels of music sometimes by
little-known or forgotten pianist-composers are served like after-dinner mints.
When
was the last time anyone heard in performance Ignace Paderewski’s Minuet in G major? This used to be an
extremely popular and regularly-played piece, one which the pianist-turned-President
of Poland resented for its sheer ubiquity. In Fowke’s hands, it was a charming
and unpretentious little gem that has its obligatory flashy bits.
Next
came two Lyric Pieces by Edvard
Grieg, the gently rocking rhythm and ravishing harmonies of Melodie (Op.47 No.3) contrasted with the
flitting skittish swirls of Butterfly
(Op.43 No.1). Of a more barnstorming nature was Erno Dohnanyi’s Rhapsody in C major (Op.11 No.3), which
delighted in big chords and that grandstanding melody at its centre.
Fowke
also presented a couple of his own transcriptions. From Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, the Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy highlighted the celesta’s tinkling
sonority, one achieved with cunning pedal-work, and the athletic romp that is
the Trepak (Russian Dance).
Fowke’s
journey back in time also revealed his vintage, including mention of 78 rpm
shellac discs, piano rolls, player-pianos and a salute to two late pianist
friends of his, Eileen Joyce and Shura Cherkassky, themselves legendary practitioners
of the encore.
Ever
obscure was the Waltz in A major by
the Ukrainian Mischa Levitzki, its salon appeal enhanced by highlighting hidden
inner melodies magically voiced by the left thumb. This was balanced by
Christian Sinding's solitary hit single, Rustle Of Spring, with gentle
murmurs overshadowing its more virtuosic flourishes.
Pride
of place went to two pieces by Billy Mayerl, sometimes known as the British
Gershwin. Song Of The Fir Tree, based on a Swedish folksong, first heard
straight and later in a bluesy swing, as if transformed by a swig of scotch.
His signature tune Marigold exuded much lilting gaiety, with ragtime
taking a teasing turn on The Strand.
Fowke's
final two pieces are justly celebrated, Moskowski's scintillating Etincelles
(Sparks), a Horowitz favourite which is a study in staccato, and
Chopin's familiar Heroic Polonaise (Op.53). In the latter, how he
managed to evince pathos and melancholy amid the thundering octaves made this
reading a memorable one. The perfect encore is one which makes one crave for
more, and Fowke had just seriously whetted everybody's appetite.
 |
Philip Fowke with his former students
from London's Trinity College:
the Conservatory's Jenny Ang & Yun from Korea. |
