Today’s concert was a classic piano recital. Quynh Ngyuen played seven pieces. The first half of the program was the Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op 109 (Beethoven) and Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, Op. 54 (Chopin)—rather straightforward, except they weren’t.
The Beethoven barely seemed like Beethoven to begin with—the first movement oddly disjunctive, the second movement more Beethoven-esque (slightly dense, more solid)—followed by a third movement that was a bit segmented.
The Scherzo was not your drawing-room, wispy Chopin. This was a strong composition with strong playing. The playing throughout the afternoon was admirable. The Scherzo started nicely, followed by a singing middle section, and finishing with a strong recapitulation.
Part II of the concert was a Sondheim dream. Chopin – Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, Op. 47; Grande valse brilliante, in E-flat Major, Op. 18; and Valse brilliante, Op. 34, No. 1 in A-flat Major. Whew! Followed by La Valse (Ravel).
Ballade = Ballad of Sweeney Todd; valse/Valse/La Valse = A Little Night Music.
The Ballade was a nicely rounded, fully composed work, played very well. Les deux Chopin valses were almost Miss America fodder—lots of technique, very, very brisk tempos, with a very few (very minor) flubbed fingerings. This is not a dis; just my reaction to the actual performance in a concert hall situation.
These waltzes are audience favorites and I (along with the rest of the audience) enjoyed them tremendously. Just my suggestions re. performance style.
Ravel’s La Valse took us into a new realm. My scribbled notes say, “darker, less showy (in general), but still filled with difficulty; almost mystical; toward the end feeling almost diabolical, leading into madness.” I stand by that. I also think that Richard Rodgers may have tapped into Ravel for some parts of his Carousel Waltz.
Ms. Nguyen’s well-deserved encore was folk song–based in honor of the Lunar New Year of the Dragon.
ConcertMeister
No comments:
Post a Comment