Raj Bhimani, Piano (2/20/16)

Beethoven and a Bouquet of French Gems

Raj Bhimani is a pianist I’ve heard before, so I made sure to attend when I saw his name on the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts brochure. I wasn’t disappointed.

Sonata in G Major Op. 14, No. 2 (1798–9) – Allegro; Andante; Scherzo: Allegro assai – Ludwig van Beethoven – (1770–1827)
Sonata in F Minor, Op. 57, “Appassionata” (1804–5) – Allegro assai; Andante con moto; Allegro ma non troppo – Beethoven
Preludes for Piano – IV. D’Ombre et de Silence (In Shadow and Silence) (1973); V. Sur un même accord (On One Chord) (1977); VI. Le Jeu des contraires (The Game of Opposites) (1988) – Henri Dutilleux (1916–2013)
Barcarolle No. 6 in E-flat Major, Op. 70 (1896) – Gabriel Fauré
(1845–1924)
Idylle, from Pièces Pittoresques (1881) – Emmanuel Chabrier (1841–1894)
Concert Etude in D-flat Major, Op. 35, No. 2, “Autumn” (1886) –
Cécile Chaminade (1857–1944)
Minuet in C-sharp Minor (1904) – Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
Piano Piece, Op. 49, No. 3 (1933) – Albert Roussel (1869–1937)

All three movements of the first Beethoven sonata had nice, pretty, interesting phrases, but they were also a little bit disjointed, making the work seem slightly dry and lacking in wholeness, for want of a better word. The Appassionata had a mysterious quality to begin with and then added much more drama. There was a mix of dark, strong chords and phrases juxtaposed with some gentle filigree, with some bravura playing thrown into the mix. The second movement sounded like a chorale with a pensive quality. Once again, there was a bit of a disjointed quality before we segued into the third movement, consisting of lovely and lively and dramatic sections, including quite a lot of finger fireworks. It’s not nicknamed Appassionata for nothing!

After the intermission, Mr. Bhimani spoke briefly about Henri Dutilleux, even saying that he guessed most of us had never heard his music before. That was certainly true of me. Dutilleux’ output as a composer is not very large, and Mr. Bhimani had a chance to meet him and form a friendship while studying in Paris. In fact, one of the pieces on Saturday’s program, if I’m remembering correctly, is an unpublished work played from the composer’s handwritten manuscript. The first piece was modern, in terms of harmonies, somewhat moody yet still easily listened to. The second was a little more dramatic and slightly wandering, in an interesting way. (What was not interesting was a cell phone ringing in the audience during the piece. If you use your cell phone during intermission, silence it at the start of the second half of the program! Down off of my soapbox now.) The third piece had some harsh dissonances that resolved into a single pitch. There was fun use of sustained tones and pedaling resulting, though, in music that is worth listening to. But not to all of the audience, as quite a few people left after the Dutilleux.

Sadly for them, they really did miss some French gems. The next three pieces were played as a small set, and Mr. Bhimani managed to play them without applause in between just by his demeanor at the keyboard. The pieces were (and I’m sort of capsulizing my notes here) melodic and pretty, energetic but not too, nice to listen to in a light and pleasant way, and in the Chaminade, what seemed to me as if it could have been a grand accompaniment for a classical chanson.

The brief Ravel piece had a wistful quality and pretty tunes and phrases, while the Roussel brought us back to the world of modern harmonies, but not of the knock-your-socks-off variety. It was very boisterous with playful, shifting rhythms and touches of jazz, with a classical flair. Throughout the afternoon, Mr. Bhimani played beautifully (with maybe a bobble or two). He brought a real commitment to a broad range of solo piano music, and I’ll continue to keep his name on my radar.