Video courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon
Refined sounds of rarified elegance and luminosity.Whispers that drew the audience into his magic chameleonic world with a kaleidoscope of sounds.
The marvel is that like Richter before him his range and control of sound between pianissimo and mezzo forte is of a quite extraordinary finesse.A sense of character and architectural shape that when needed was in his fingertips too.Forte became an astonishing revelation as it was also within his palette of sounds but used only when his superb musicianship had need of such a pivotal point.
The sonata in E minor by Haydn crept in as it also disappeared on high at the end of the first movement but it was the rounded golden sounds of the Adagio that became the heart beat of this wonderful gem.A finale that was played with such tantalising charm and exquisite finesse with refined sounds of elegance and incredible scintillating shared secrets.
Such a refined tonal palette and aristocratic control were exactly the world in which the magic of Ravel could reveal its clockwork precision and evocative perfumed sounds.
A genial link to the magic of Ravel’s Miroirs was the subtle elegance of his Menuet on the name of Haydn.Followed by Miroirs where the title exactly described his performance.The fleeting insistence of moths,the sultry lament of the birds.The exquisite calm before the sweeping waves of the storm.The sweltering hi jinx of Alborada with its glittering glissandi of opulent streams of sound.But it was the absolute calm of the bells in the distance that was ultimately so moving in this young man’s poetic hands.
It was the same link that he was to find between Mozart’s B minor Adagio and Liszt’s Three Petrarch Sonnets.They were in turn the link to the burning intensity of the Dante Sonata in which demonic technical mastery was suddenly exposed with devastating effect.A final chord that needed both hands to pummel the red hot intensity into the bottom of this magnificent Fabbrini Steinway.
Have moths ever sounded so glowing like will o’ the wisp’s surrounding insinuating harmonies?A magic world of fantasy and colour with chameleonic changes of fleeting character.
There was a desolate cry to the ‘sad birds’ with a luminosity and glow to the sound that was all played with seemingly superhuman control.
Washes of colour as the boat is allowed to sail in waters of ravishing beauty.The calm after the storm was of transcendental mastery and one of those moments that will be cherished by all those witness to such a miraculous recreation.
Spikey clarity of ‘Alborada’ with the subtle dissonances of the recitativi were answered by whispered clouds on high.I wish I knew where this ‘valley of bells’ is as I would gladly spend the rest of my life there wallowing in such a sumptuously refined atmosphere.
But these are figments of the composers inspiration that were miraculously translated into sounds by this extraordinarily sensitive young virtuoso.
‘Je sens,je joue,je trasmets’
This was indeed the technical mastery that had so astonished us on the first appearances of Sviatoslav Richter in the west.We all thought Gilels was a genius but even he said ‘Wait and see who comes after me!’.
Cho undoubtedly has the same poetic genius for sound that so seduced us in the late ‘60’s .
The boyish good looks of this youthful musician never seemed to become ruffled or disturbed by the wonders that were pouring from his fingers.No crowd pleasing showmanship or unnecessary moving around because the magic that he was creating came from within a soul of exquisite sensibility and intelligence.
The Liszt Consolation in D flat was played as an encore for an audience who had sat in awed silence throughout the recital not even daring to clap between pieces.
An audience that erupted with pent up emotion at the end of the Dante Sonata and little could they have imagined such a miracle as his recreation of Liszt’s exquisite little tone poem as we were consoled in D flat.
A wondrous world of intimate confessions and diabolical declarations!There was a pregnant silence from an audience accomplice to such extraordinarily intimate confessions.
A rare sense of balance allowed the melodic line of Sonettò n. 47 to be floated on rarified sounds like puffs of celestial smoke.There was a passionate outcry at the beginning of 104 ,never hysterical, but the inner passion of a poetic soul.Notes spun from his fingers like streaks of sound that belied the technical mastery that was involved.
N.123 were really whispered confessions of subtle beauty.
Complete aching silence at the end of this most poetic outpouring was broken by the noble opening octaves that rang around this vast hall with the great story of Dante that was about to unfold.
Luminosity,washes of colour and a technical mastery were at the complete service of a story of seduction and diabolical sedition.The final pages were played with quite extraordinary control and accuracy even in the notorious octave skips of the final great climax.
I am reminded of Rosalyn Tureck telling me that she did not play wrong notes as every note has a meaning in an overall musical shape made of bricks that support the great edifice that she was describing.
A standing ovation and relaxation of tension after almost two hours of seduction lead to the true miracle of the evening.
Liszt’s much neglected consolations where Cho chose to play the best known one with a sumptuous melodic line with embellishments that were mere vibrations of the melodic line.A miracle of sound production with a transcendental control that had been the hallmark of a truly memorable evening with a young virtuoso prepared to share his most intimate thoughts with us all.
The annual festival of Cinema was everywhere to be seen as we entered the Sala Santa Cecilia but little could the glittered presence outside have imagined what gold lay within.
ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary 