The last semifinal recital is a good one, though you could have predicted that with Deljavan playing it. He plays Schubert's Sonata in D major (D. 850), and it was even better than Bozhanov's Schubert. Not many pianists can do Schubert and Liszt equally well, but Deljavan's skill in narrative building helped wrangle these unruly works into shape. His playing is clear and thoroughly unsentimental, and it'd be dry if he weren't so warm and full of feeling, without any unnecessary underscoring of the emotion. (Unless you count his facial expressions, that is. Some people would. I don't.) His understanding of the structure made this Schubert sonata a riveting listening experience, and he made great use of the coy theme from the fourth movement. I could listen to this guy play Schubert all day, and there are very few pianists I'd say that about.
He then played White Lies for Lomax, and he didn't understand it (so there is something he can't do!) though he was gorgeous to hear, so he has that advantage over all the other pianists who didn't get it. Andrea Lam is the one who really got it.
He finished with Scriabin's Fifth Piano Sonata, and he singed the air with it. (Of course, if you don't singe the air with it, you're doing it wrong.) This delicately colored work erupts into violence and eroticism, and Deljavan did justice to its luridity without ever losing his attractive tone. He built up the tension into a hair-burning finale. What a discovery we've made with this pianist!
Showing posts with label Scriabin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scriabin. Show all posts
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Ran Dank
The shaggy-haired Israeli went last in the afternoon session. From my vantage point in the third row center, I could hear him singing along with the music that he played. This is a more common habit among pianists than you might think; much 19th-century piano music requires a "singing line," in which the pianist tries to make the instrument flow from note to note as effortlessly as a singer does. (Not the easiest thing to do with a box filled with hammers and strings.) Glenn Gould famously used to do it. His voice can be heard on some of his piano recordings. Stephen Beus did it, too, though he didn't actually make sounds. He just moved his lips like he was singing.
Anyway, Ran Dank started with Boulez' Notations, a piece I wasn't familiar with. When you're playing a piece that's unfamiliar to the public, you're not just interpreting the music. You're making a case for it; why the crowd should be listening to it instead of another Beethoven sonata. Dank did pretty decently in that regard for this halting, eruptive piece. He then launched straight into Beethoven's Sonata "Quasi una Fantasia" without getting up to acknowledge applause or even taking his hands off the keyboard. It would have worked better if his Beethoven had been anything more than unobjectionable and uninvolving.
He did rather better with Scriabin's "Black Mass" Sonata No. 9, followed by another unfamiliar piece, Liszt's Reminiscences de Norma, which is not about a girl named Norma, though given Liszt's reputation with women, who knows? Rather, it's a piece based on his impressions of Bellini's opera. (Liszt did a lot of pieces like that.) I couldn't fault Dank's technique, nor his command of the idiom. The Scriabin had the right sort of acrid unwholesomeness that seems to drip from the Russian's works, and the Liszt had the right glamor. On the other hand, Dank was considerably weaker when it came to the architecture of these pieces. This was especially true in the Liszt piece, which sounded right but never gelled. The pianist sure was brilliant in spots, though.
Anyway, Ran Dank started with Boulez' Notations, a piece I wasn't familiar with. When you're playing a piece that's unfamiliar to the public, you're not just interpreting the music. You're making a case for it; why the crowd should be listening to it instead of another Beethoven sonata. Dank did pretty decently in that regard for this halting, eruptive piece. He then launched straight into Beethoven's Sonata "Quasi una Fantasia" without getting up to acknowledge applause or even taking his hands off the keyboard. It would have worked better if his Beethoven had been anything more than unobjectionable and uninvolving.
He did rather better with Scriabin's "Black Mass" Sonata No. 9, followed by another unfamiliar piece, Liszt's Reminiscences de Norma, which is not about a girl named Norma, though given Liszt's reputation with women, who knows? Rather, it's a piece based on his impressions of Bellini's opera. (Liszt did a lot of pieces like that.) I couldn't fault Dank's technique, nor his command of the idiom. The Scriabin had the right sort of acrid unwholesomeness that seems to drip from the Russian's works, and the Liszt had the right glamor. On the other hand, Dank was considerably weaker when it came to the architecture of these pieces. This was especially true in the Liszt piece, which sounded right but never gelled. The pianist sure was brilliant in spots, though.
Natasha Kudritskaya
The Ukrainian pianist, a very thin woman, came out in an interesting ensemble that included a black top, brown pants, and lace-up Adidas shoes. (Were they sneakers? Looked like it.) She took some moments spacing out before she started each piece, seemingly trying to get her head in the right place.
She played Chopin's Second Piano Sonata and Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, and she was excellent when it came to the lyrical parts, but in both pieces she lacked power. I don't think this is a gender thing; I've seen tiny women produce huge volumes of sound from the piano before, but Kudritskaya couldn't produce the kind of sound necessary to both pieces. Gaspard (unbelievably, this is the only rendition of it we're scheduled to hear in the first round) didn't have that edge of menace that the piece is supposed to have. It's supposed to be dripping with evil.
She did much better with the Scriabin waltz at the end. That was played with delicacy and lightness of touch. This contestant definitely has some talent. I think she could have chosen her pieces better. If she makes it to the next round, her semifinal program might show her off in a better light.
She played Chopin's Second Piano Sonata and Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, and she was excellent when it came to the lyrical parts, but in both pieces she lacked power. I don't think this is a gender thing; I've seen tiny women produce huge volumes of sound from the piano before, but Kudritskaya couldn't produce the kind of sound necessary to both pieces. Gaspard (unbelievably, this is the only rendition of it we're scheduled to hear in the first round) didn't have that edge of menace that the piece is supposed to have. It's supposed to be dripping with evil.
She did much better with the Scriabin waltz at the end. That was played with delicacy and lightness of touch. This contestant definitely has some talent. I think she could have chosen her pieces better. If she makes it to the next round, her semifinal program might show her off in a better light.
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