There’s no doubt about O’Riley’s ability. There were beautiful moments of thoughtful touch, sensitive phrasing, fine technique throughout, but in fast, dense and loud passages—and Liszt loved these and inserted them as major portions of his compositions—O’Riley tended to go overboard and the results often were not as clean as they might have been. Continue reading NPR’s Christopher O’Riley Takes Liszt Over the Top
Liszt’s transcription of Bach’s “great” Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor is unmistakeably still Bach, particularly the Fugue which is barely touched and which Ohlsson played with exquisite articulation and phrasing. Liszt embellishes the Fantasy so that the piano most nearly approximates the organ sound with all its stops, and the whole has the majesty of the original with Ohlsson using plenty of pedal to enhance it further. Continue reading Loving Every Note of Garrick Ohlsson’s Exquisite Liszt
Fellner, who has also studied with Brendel, has that great pianist’s thoughtful and less-is-more approach to understanding a composer, but his performance Tuesday could have used more warmth. That said, his performance of Haydn’s Sonata in C major, Hob XVI:50, composed quite late in the composer’s life, was a marvel of elegance, clarity and exquisite touch. Continue reading Till Fellner Turns in a Cool, Crisp Performance at Meany’s President’s Piano Series
