THE JOY OF PIANO
ExxonMobil Campus
Concerts
University Cultural
Centre
Tuesday to Thursday
(23-25 October 2012)
An edited version of this review was published in The Straits Times on 27 October 2012 with the title "Bask in a breathtaking piano landscape".
The Joy of Piano, Singapore
In the Russian Ilya Rashkovskiy, who opened the
festival, one found an interpreter par
excellence of Russian repertoire in the mould of legends Richter and
Gilels. In Prokofiev’s Eighth Sonata,
he negotiated a treacherous tightrope between bittersweet melancholy and
lacerating violence with a cool steely resolve. In commanding control
throughout, he also yielded poetry from Rachmaninov’s clangourous Second Sonata through its dense thickets
of notes.
Breathtaking virtuosity aside, lyricism was
breathed into Schubert’s desolate Impromptu
in C minor and seemingly hackneyed Chopin began to resound anew. The Second Ballade and “Heroic” Polonaise could
often be reduced to a mass of loud clichés, but the passion Rashkovskiy
instilled into these warhorses both inspired and invigorated. His seamless
legato singing line in the Nocturne in
D flat major (Op.27 No.2) was also one to die for.
Wednesday evening saw an equally trenchant
response from Hong
Kong ’s
Colleen Lee, an epitome of feminine grace whose lithe stature belied a big
sound and enormous reserves. There was whimsy and fantasy to Schumann’s little Arabeske, while world-weariness coloured
the Fantasy in C major, with a share
of wrong notes in the treacherous second movement as if to prove the point.
Her overall vision and conception was never in
doubt, volatile and excitable in Chopin’s Second
Scherzo and displaying a kaleidoscopic range of moods and colours for the 24
short Préludes of Op.28. The journey
was eventful and highly personal, one that revolved around the “Raindrop” Prélude, where time stood
still for a full five minutes. The coruscating final number in D minor was the
perfect a jolt to the senses, delivered with stunning panache.
On the final night, Italian Giuseppe Andaloro
played what must have been the most unusual recital thought possible.
Completely eschewing classical and romantic repertoire, baroque and 20th
century music held sway. In Frescobaldi’s Partita
on La Follia, harpsichord-like ornamentations on the Steinway grand
astonished as well as delighted, while his view of the Bach-Busoni Chaconne traversed dynamic extremes,
from tinkles of a music box to thunderous organ sonorities.
The keyboard wizardry continued in the
contemporary works, where impressionistic hues of Messiaen’s Préludes sat easily with the bald
dissonances of Bartok’s Suite Op.14 and
syncopations of Stravinsky’s Tango
and Ligeti’s Two Capriccios. Four of
Kapustin’s free-wheeling Études,
played with a fearless disregard of their complexities, brought down the house.
The capacity audience, rewarded with two further encores, was clearly
captivated and basking in the joy of outsized pianism
The Joy of Piano is part of the ExxonMobil Campus Concerts Series and was generously sponsored by The Chopin Society of Hong Kong. All photographs courtesy of NUS Centre for the Arts.
The Joy of Piano is part of the ExxonMobil Campus Concerts Series and was generously sponsored by The Chopin Society of Hong Kong. All photographs courtesy of NUS Centre for the Arts.
