Fantastic!

I recently attended Fantasies, a recital by Sofia Melikyan, pianist, that explored fantasies in different forms and from different eras.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788), Fantasy in f sharp minor H 300; Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), Fantasien Op. 116; Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), Fantasy in g minor Op. 77; John Corigliano (b. 1938), Etude – Fantasy, For the left hand, Legato, Fifths to thirds, Ornaments, Melody; and Franz Liszt (1811–1886), Anées de Pèlegrinage, Deuxième anée: Italia S. 61 (Years of Travel, Second Year: Italy), Après une lecture du Dante, fantasia quasi sonata (After a Reading of Dante).

Ms. Melikyan played from memory (and played very well) throughout the entire performance.

The Bach had a calm opening and then alternated between flights of controlled fancy and calmer sections. C.P.E. learned a lot from his papa, J.S., and others; this was a thoroughly enjoyable piece that was a transition from the Baroque to the Classical eras. Brahms’ seven-movement work bounded into Romanticism with an expansive (compositionally) opening that was also powerful (both the music and the playing). The second movement had a contrasting calmness, and was dream-like though still fully engaged. The third was explosive, but not frantic. My notes for the fourth movement include, ethereal, even in the lower tones of the piano, with subtle, nuanced playing. The fifth was more energetic, though still somewhat subdued, while the sixth had a fuller build-out of sound. The final movement was very fast, powerful, and broad ranging.

[Mini-rant here—no fewer than four electronic devices went off during the first half of the concert. And this is a venue where there is a notice in the program (and the program is not one of those huge booklets) and there was an announcement from the stage at the beginning of the concert. Please, please, please show some common courtesy.]

After intermission, Beethoven took us backward a bit with a piece that had fragmented ideas with a Classical esthetic. It then moved on to energetic sections with very rapid fingerwork, and finally returned to a melodic, totally fantasy feel. While it was well played, it was also not my favorite—maybe by having experienced Romanticism, the Classical nature paled a little. Just my personal reaction.

The five movements of the Corigliano piece segued so smoothly that it was sometimes difficult to figure how far along we were, as listeners. The piece had a very modern feel (emphasis on very), with very “rangy” writing for the left hand alone, creating an almost angry feel. The mysterious second movement then transitioned into a brisk, definite, frantic third movement. The fourth movement had a mystical quality and then virtuosity that didn’t quite lead anywhere, while the fifth movement was calm, but a bit meandering.

Liszt’s Dante-themed work had a dramatic opening that used tri-tones (think European ambulance or emergency vehicle sirens) representing evil. This led to flights of fancy, of the type often associated with Liszt, and to virtuosic writing that was, here, used very well. A chorale-like section then moved us into a major key, as a means of giving us a feeling of heaven—at least as had been explained from the stage, before the piece began.

This concert was a great journey through some of the eras of classical music, played very well by a wonderful artist. Fantastic, indeed.

ConcertMeister