Midday Masterpieces (1/3/2018)

Tristan Teo, piano

Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42 (1931) – Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
Piano Sonata in B Minor, S. 178 (1853) – Franz Liszt (1811–1886)

Big breath. The Variations have a theme and then twenty variations, with an intermezzo tossed in between Variations 13 and 14, so you’re not getting variation names. By the way, the theme La Folia isn’t actually by Corelli, though he used it in 1700 as the basis for his violin and continuo sonata. And the Liszt Sonata has three movements (well, maybe four, but possibly only one), so you’re not getting movement names there, either. Mr. Teo played both works from memory, and in fact gave us a little insight into Liszt’s life at the time of composing his work. Liszt felt strongly that all pianists should memorize the scores, and Liszt did, so Mr. Teo felt that he really had to. On to the music.

The Rachmaninoff opened with a gentle rendition of the theme which was then, for the most part, recognizable from variation to variation. The first was rippling and seemed to have hints of jazz riffs. The variations that followed were charming, à la Russe (with touches of the Orient), bell tones with a widening range, and bold and fiery. We then went on to bolder still, with perpetual motion in the right hand, misterioso, chorale-like (almost as though an organist were improvising), a scherzo, and then a strong extension of the scherzo. One had more modern harmonies and one had expanded musical ideas and harmonies. There was another chorale, then a modern music box–style variation, and several forte, powerful variations before finishing with a slightly dreamy coda. It was a fun piece to listen to and the varied variations made it very interesting, as did Mr. Teo’s performance.

Before beginning the Liszt, Mr. Teo gave a brief demo of the three main motifs for Faust, the Devil, and God. I must confess that I was not really totally aware of their recurrences during the thirty-minute work which, if it really did have different movements, was played straight through. The piece was at times dramatic, theatrical, and symphonic in style, though it also had a lovely lyrical stretch that put me in the mindset of good cheer. It then returned us to drama, alternating back and forth. I finally just gave in and sat there listening, and enjoying the pianistic flair that is so often associated with Liszt.

In addition to playing with a sense of confidence, Mr. Teo also had a very natural, confident style when engaging with and speaking to the audience, the more so since he’s all of twenty years old. A well-balanced program presented succinctly, clearly, and very enjoyably. What a great way to start off ConcertMeister’s new year. And thank you to WQXR and The Juilliard School for continuing this terrific series. Here’s to lots and lots of great music in 2018!

ConcertMeister