Charles Jones, Piano (6/15/19)

Partita No. 5 in G Major – J.S. Bach (1685–1750)
Sonata No. 1, Op. 22 – Allegro marcato; Presto misterioso; Adagio molto appassianato; Ruvido ed ostinato – Ginastera (1916–1983)
Carnaval, Op. 9 – Schumann (1810–1856)

Mr. Jones played the Bach from the score, assisted by a page turner. If memory serves, I think it’s the only time I’ve seen him play from a score. The piece is a Praembulum followed by six movements named for dances. My free-form notes include: Bright and fun; a dance, but a little subdued; quite brisk, with odd repeats in the middle; another gentle dance; a rather disjointed minuet, also with odd internal repeats; a little more rhythmic and complicated; and sharp and crisp, fully rounding out the piece.

The two pieces that followed were played from memory. The Ginastera (first name, Alberto, in case you’re interested) had a first movement that was brash and rhythmic, rangy on the keyboard, and clangorous at times, though I didn’t mind that. The second was quieter but still with plenty of movement, and very interesting to hear. The third movement opened with only the left hand being used and then an explosion from the right hand, and was quite intriguing. The final movement was very rhythmic and brisk, drawing the listener in by the sheer energy involved. I think it was my favorite piece on the program.

Carnaval. I’ve heard the work once before and didn’t quite understand it. [Note: This, from a 10/3/17 CM post: Carnaval is a collection of 20 small vignettes designed to pay tribute to Schumann’s family and friends. This did not translate too well for me. I don’t know what the movements were named.] This time around, the twenty movements were listed but I will not recount them by name here. Also as a result of the piece being twenty brief movements, my notes are in a free-form style again. Strong chords to open, with a somewhat martial tune; a little dark, mystical; more explosive and brighter [PHONE!]; sweet waltz, though not cloying; calmer; energetic, with a few touches of calmer contrast; brighter and chirpy; a transition piece, shifting the mood; frantic butterflies? (indeed, I was right; in reading about the piece after the fact, I learned that Schumann quoted one of his own works, Papillons); almost frenetic; movements blurring together. A word about that blurring together—since these were brief movements, it was sometimes hard to know whether some of the movements were elided together. Also, Mr. Jones has a sort of quirk where he pauses between movements and blots his face and forehead with a handkerchief. It’s not really annoying, but you never know when it might happen. Adding to some of my confusion is that the nineteenth movement is called Pause, but I didn’t know whether it was an actual movement or a directive to pause (it was an actual movement). From a technique standpoint, the work is challenging and it was very well played (as it was on 10/3/17). But I still don’t quite get it. Maybe someday I will.

ConcertMeister