Tag Archives: piano

Arts & Entertainment, Music

A Bouquet of French Favorites at the Seattle Symphony

The Seattle Symphony performs works by French composers Dutilleux, Dukas, and Ravel on Saturday, April 21 at 8 p.m. at Benaroya Hall. Also on the program is a U.S. premiere by Macedonian composer Damir Imeri. Featured performers are guest conductor Susanna Mälkki and pianist Simon Trpčeski.

Conductor Susanna Mälkki (Photo: Simon Fowler)

Benaroya Hall was full of international flair on Thursday evening. Seattle Symphony presented a program of French music, including Paul Dukas’ beloved work The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. On the podium was Finnish guest conductor Susanna Mälkki, a former professional cellist who is the first woman to conduct a production at Milan’s famed La Scala opera house.  Brilliant pianist Simon Trpčeski, a perennial Seattle favorite, joined the orchestra for Ravel’s Piano Concerto and the U.S. premiere of a work based on folk tunes from Trpceski’s native Macedonia.

Henri Dutilleux’s Symphony No. 1 started off the program. Composed in 1951, this evocative work paired well with the cinematic flavor of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. The Seattle Symphony has featured several of Dutilleux’s works in the programs this season — a crash-course in the music of this 96-year-old French composer. Dutilleux’s Symphony No. 1 is colorful, exciting, and appealing to a wide range of audiences. It’s vivid orchestral music that paints a picture and tells a story. Each of the four movements could have been the mini-soundtrack to a short film.

Following the Dutilleux, Trpčeski took the stage to introduce “Fantasy on Two Folk Tunes”, a piece for piano and orchestra by Damir Imeri, a young Bosnian-Macedonian composer. Written just last year and dedicated to Trpčeski, this work incorporates the melodies of two traditional Macedonian folk songs. Reminiscent of the music of Béla Bartók, who also used folk tunes in his compositions, Imeri’s piece blends traditional melodies and rhythms with a contemporary orchestral sound.  Despite the occasional schmaltzy moment in the string section, the work was a skillful weaving of piano virtuosity with orchestral color.

Pianist Simon Trpčeski (Photo: Simon Fowler)

Full of smiles and boyish energy, Trpčeski returned to the stage for Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, diving into the playful first movement with enthusiasm. The orchestra responded energetically with outstanding section and solo playing, including the jazziest bassoon I’ve ever heard, courtesy of principal Seth Krimsky. The contemplative second movement occasionally lagged in energy, but Trpčeski perked right up for the speedy final movement, creating a sparking tone even in the most rapid and difficult passages.

The evening concluded with Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, a work that was catapulted into fame by the Walt Disney film Fantasia. For many, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice immediately conjures up images of Mickey Mouse as the hapless apprentice, conjuring up walking broomsticks that quickly get out of hand. Although it’s now a pop culture icon, Dukas’ piece is dramatic and whimsical in its own right. Conductor Mälkki led the orchestra with clarity and vigor in a performance that was both powerful and fun to experience.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Loving Every Note of Garrick Ohlsson’s Exquisite Liszt

Garrick Ohlsson has been celebrated on the concert stage ever since he won the International Chopin Piano Competition at age 22. That’s 42 years ago, and he’s still going strong. Last season he returned to Chopin in honor of that composer’s 200th birthday. This season he is doing the same for Franz Liszt, who was born October 22, 1811.

Ohlsson returned to the President’s Piano Series at the University of Washington Wednesday night with a program of a Liszt transcription of Bach, a Busoni transcription of Liszt, both these of organ works, plus four of Liszt’s most famous pieces, all of which pose major technical challenges for the performer. (Closing out the series this season is Angela Hewitt on May 15.)

Liszt was renowned for his pianistic ability, his technique being so incredible that just about any piano music was easy for him technically, and the music he wrote for himself often almost impossible for others to encompass.

Liszt was very tall for the era, about 6′ 2″, while Ohlsson is 6′ 4″. Liszt’s hands are described as long and narrow with long fingers; Ohlsson’s hands looked like spider’s legs moving with amazing speed and lightness over the keys.

There’s a description of Liszt’s playing in an unidentified music magazine of around 1900:

In the fortissimo passages his tone was immense, and his pianissimos were the most delicate whispers. In these, his fingers glided over the keys with inconceivable lightness and speed, and the tone fell upon the ear with a delicate tracery with which no particular note was lost by reason of speed or lightness.

I found this quote today, and it’s exactly what I thought of Ohlsson’s Wednesday night performance.

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.

The Busoni transcription of Liszt’s massive and seemingly rambling Fantasia and Fugue on the Chorale Ad nos, ad salutarem undam does the same as Liszt does for Bach, adding more sonorities to recreate the organ sound. While Ohlsson gave it a remarkable performance, the work seems too much to take in in one bite, like an over-rich meal that is too lavish, matter how delicious.

The four shorter works of the concert’s second half showed various facets of Liszt, the Jeux d’eau à la Villa d’Este and the Feux Follets on the airy side, while the Funérailles and Mephisto Waltz No. 1 were more intense.

In Ohlsson’s Jeux one could hear all different kinds of moving water, from sparkling drops flung from fountains to rippling streams in larger or smaller bodies, to the power of waterfalls, while the quicksilver playfulness of Feux Follets had Ohlsson’s fingers whisking all over the instrument always without tension and feathery light or crisp as needed.

Funérailles first made sense to me played on an 1856 Erard piano, such as Liszt used, and where the bass register had much more clarity and sonority than today’s grand. However, the sound in both bass register and the topmost register on Wednesday’s piano both lacked the somewhat dull effect we so often get, both shining out with more depth and color. Much of Funérailles takes place in that lowest register, and it was possible to hear clearly in Ohlsson’s performance the pounding hooves, the funeral march, the somber richness of the work. And in Mephisto, we heard the brightness and fun seguéing into devilish frenzy.

All these colors and impressions come through in Ohlsson’s playing, and nothing can be more tender in gentle passages.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Introducing Jan Lisiecki, “an exceptional pianistic talent”

Jan Lisiecki

The lucky audience which attended the UW President’s Piano recital at Meany Hall Wednesday was privileged to hear the Northwest debut of perhaps the most exceptional pianistic talent to be presented here in a generation, perhaps two generations, or more. I don’t think, after six decades of concertgoing, I have ever heard a young man with the kind of mature musicianship and technical ease displayed by 16-year-old Jan Lisiecki. I heard several other audience members commenting, “This is thrilling.”

This Polish-Canadian young man from Calgary began his concert career aged nine, and has been concertizing all over the world, in recital, as orchestral soloist, and as chamber musician. He graduated high school January 2011 after being accelerated four grades by Calgary’s school board, and he speaks four languages. One wonders when he has had the time to learn all this.

It would be easy to think, before hearing him, that this would be a technical whiz kid whose musical intention would be to play everything faster, louder and more spectacularly than anyone else. Or, that his musical tastes would be parroted, at this age, from a fine teacher. And we’d be wrong in both cases. Technically, he is already a master, with his hands completely at the service of the music. Musically, there is no doubt these are his own interpretations of music which he has subjected to profound consideration. His programming is clearly his own.

Lisiecki is a sober presenter. Clad in a plain black suit and tie, he walks out on stage, bows, sits down, takes a moment of sitting quietly, hands in lap, and then plays. No arm waving, no body swaying, nothing to distract from the music.

And the music!

He chose to start both program halves with a Bach Prelude and Fugue, No. 14 in F-Sharp Minor, and No. 12 in F Minor, following those with Beethoven, Liszt and Mendelssohn, then Chopin.

His Bach was orderly with subtle dynamic nuance, clear articulation and rock-steady tempi. His Beethoven, Sonata No. 24 in F-Sharp Major, was remarkable for its ease of touch and lightness on the keys, with plenty of light, shade and dynamism, but no fortissimos. Lisiecki appears to stroke the notes out of the keys, and legato runs sounded like a flow of sunshine.

His intelligent approach to Liszt’s Trois études de concert elucidated some of the mysteries of the composer’s thinking, something which often gets steamrollered by the chance to let everything roll out in an emotional outpouring. This had depth, and here, as in Mendelssohn’s Variations sérieuses in D Minor, Lisiecki could extract rich fortes from the piano without ever going overboard.

He ended the concert with Chopin’s Twelve Etudes, Op. 25, a good choice to finish with its fireworks towards the end, though each etude had technical difficulties to marvel at, his were so neat, so lively, so clean, and at the same time so thoughtful, so musically right, and apparently so easy. Lisiecki’s hands were relaxed all evening. He never pounded to achieve emphasis or volume, they were just there. Nor did he seem to tense up for runs, no matter how fast, and flawlessly even.

In short, a mature musician, no matter his chronological age. I found myself thinking he’s in the same genre as Alfred Brendl, a thinking musician’s musician.

A reminder: The UW World Series offers up to two Free Youth Tickets (ages 5-17 only) with the purchase of every regular price ticket. The Free Youth Ticket was created to engage young audiences in classical music and encourage families to share the experience of hearing great music together. The offer may be redeemed for any remaining 2011-12 Chamber Music or President’s Piano Series event by mentioning the promotional code “PRELUDE” at the time of ticket purchase. Available via phone and in-person orders only.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Seattle Symphony Presents Keyboard Fireworks, a Beloved Classic, and a World Premiere

The Seattle Symphony performs works by Franz Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, and Nico Muhly tonight, January 28, at 8 p.m. at Benaroya Hall. More details and tickets are available at the Seattle Symphony website.

Ludovic Morlot’s been hard at work. Although it’s only been a few months into his first season as music director of the Seattle Symphony, Morlot has already made waves with his adventurous programming and fresh approach to the symphonic repertoire. Thursday night’s concert was no exception, sandwiching Schubert’s beloved “Unfinished” Symphony No. 8 between a world premiere by Nico Muhly and a performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 by Marc-André Hamelin. The Symphony will perform the same program again tonight.

In many ways, these works are worlds apart. However, when they’re performed together as part of a unified program, listeners are invited to draw parallels between the pieces. In this way, a program that initially seems like a musical grab-bag is be transformed into an insightful exploration of a single musical concept. At Thursday’s concert, the theme of the night seemed to be musical texture. All three pieces on the program cycle through a wide variety of orchestral textures in a short amount of time, creating a musical landscape full of changing moods and colors.

Nico Muhly

The concert opened with Nico Muhly’s world premiere, a one-movement work playfully titled So Far So Good. Born in Vermont and currently based in New York City, Muhly is a young composer whose star is on the rise. Only thirty years old, he’s already racked up an impressive list of accomplishments, including an upcoming opera premiere at the Met, an ongoing gig as assistant to eminent composer Philip Glass, and collaborations with Björk.

In So Far So Good, Muhly uses repeating melodic themes and ever-shifting textures to create a work that is atmospheric and sonically rich. Contrasting textures in different sections of the orchestra are often combined and overlapped. For example, at the beginning of the work, Muhly juxtaposes a smooth, legato string part with short, staccato bursts from the brass and percussion. Morlot managed the flowing textures well, guiding the ensemble through sudden transitions and mood changes.

So Far So Good paired surprisingly well with the second piece on the program, Schubert’s “Unfinished” Symphony, another work that features dramatic shifts in mood and texture. Although Schubert was only able to complete the first two movements of the symphony before his death in 1828, the “Unfinished” is one of his most popular works. The piece flows rapidly through a huge spectrum of orchestral colors, ranging from a sweet, tender cello melody to grand gestures that utilize a full orchestral sound. The woodwind section sounded fantastic in the handful of solos and duets throughout the work, particularly Ben Hausmann on oboe, Christopher Sereque on clarinet, and Demarre McGill on flute.

The evening concluded with a performance of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, featuring Marc-André Hamelin as the soloist. Although Schubert and Chopin both heralded from the Romantic tradition of classical composition, the “Unfinished” Symphony is miles away from Chopin’s concerto in terms of tone and texture. Schubert’s Symphony focuses on a full range of orchestral sound, while Chopin’s work utilizes the orchestra to accentuate the expressive power of the piano.

One of the most technically skilled pianists alive today, Hamelin is known for pushing the limits of what is physically possible on the piano. In addition to his international acclaim as a concert pianist, he is well-known as the composer of “Circus Galop”, a work for player piano that many consider to be the world’s most difficult piano piece.

The Chopin piano concerto was an excellent choice to showcase a different side of Hamelin’s artistry. Although Chopin’s compositions call for a virtuosic technique, his music is full of tender moments in which a simple melodic passage is imbued with great emotional intensity. Hamelin struck a harmonious balance between flashy technique and musical expression, sailing through difficult fast passages without batting an eye, but bringing out a delicate singing tone in sections that were slower and more melodic.

Morlot’s conducting talent and leadership abilities earned Seattle Symphony a recent mention in the New York Times. NYT music critic Zachary Woolfe reviewed Thursday night’s concert and commented favorably on Morlot’s accomplishments and vision for the orchestra: “Watching Seattle in the coming years will be fun”. If the excitement of Thursday night’s performance is any indication, Seattle’s new maestro’s on the right track.

Arts & Entertainment, Music

Till Fellner Turns in a Cool, Crisp Performance at Meany’s President’s Piano Series

Till Fellner (Photo: Ben Ealovega)

The UW President’s Piano Series opened Tuesday at Meany Theater with Austrian musician Till Fellner playing Haydn, Schumann, Liszt, and a new work by Kit Armstrong.

The last-mentioned is a 19-year-old prodigy who began formal composition and piano studies at five and college at seven, appeared as piano soloist with orchestra aged eight, had many compositions to his credit by ten, and is now studying with pianist Alfred Brendel in London, while also pursuing science studies in the field of pure mathematics at the Pierre and Marie Curie Institute.

I wish some of the above information about him had been in the program. Armstrong’s notes were intellectual and mathematical, as though music was a specific problem to be worked out, and the nearest to a feeling being one mention of “floating.”

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. Fellner could have been playing a fortepiano, with his articulation and airy lightness creating notes which almost bounced out of the keys like impish drops of sound in the opening measures.

He could also play with an equally beautiful legato, his hands seemingly just stroking the sound out.

The choice of this sonata to go before the Armstrong might have been intentional, as Armstrong’s piece, Half of One, Six Dozen of the Other, also had these light, bouncing notes spaced like drops at both beginning and end. It’s a 15-minute work, composed for Fellner, and is classical in its style and restraint, though entirely modern in its harmonies which however are not dissonant. There is no romantic outpouring here, though as the work grows and arcs, the spare beginning becomes more fast and furious.

It suited Fellner, whose playing seems characterized by impeccable, yet restrained, performance.

This was all very well here, but Schumann’s  Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) and Liszt’s Années de Pèlerinage: Deuxième Année: Italie (Years of Pilgrimage, Second Year, Italy) both required more emotion. [You can also hear Craig Sheppard take on Années de Pèlerinage this Friday at Meany-Ed.]

Each of these works comprises many sections (13 in the Schumann, nine in the Liszt), each with titles which indicate something about the content. While these were all listed in the program, they were useless during the performance, when one might have wished to see just what the composer was describing, such as in the ninth Schumann scene, “Knight of the hobbyhorse.” Meany Theater has always turned the lights down so that it is impossible to refer to the program during the performance. I do wish this could be changed. It often detracts from the enjoyment when one is left puzzling about what the composer was after.

Fellner’s playing of both works was always beautiful, but the overall feel he conveyed was one of introspection. The only time when it seemed to really come alive being with the gleam of humor which shone through in the third Liszt section, the “Canzonetta of Salvator Rosa” where a leisurely, jaunty, crisp rhythm pervailed.

A little more passion throughout wouldn’t have come amiss. Next up in the series is Nikolai Lugansky, on November 15.