Jacky Zhang at Leighton House and Chopin fever is upon us.
Just this week four other competitors for the circus arena next month in Warsaw .
Andrzej Wierciński, Diana Cooper, Pedro Salas and Ryan Wang all playing superbly as they prepare for the gladiatorial contest.
A fight between giants, but who is already the winner is us the public with young musicians being pushed to superhuman flights where Chopin’s glorious music is being rediscovered,as these young musicians delve deeply into well worn scores and ignite them with their youthful mastery and innocence.
Today Chopin B minor from Wierciński was masterly with many discoveries without any so called traditional distortions https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2025/09/16/andrzej-wiercinski-in-perivale-true-heir-to-the-golden-age-of-piano-playing/
The biggest surprise for me was in the evening under the eagle eye of the ‘Peacocks’ that abound in these parts , with five superb performances of Chopin from the seventeen year old Jacky Zhang .
Could it have been the presence of his mentors, the Alexeev’s ( just returned from a recital in Chopin’s house that was such a marvel that as I listened on Maidenhead Station I was so inspired that I missed my train connection ! The Alexeevs have a lot to answer for ! )
Here today there was a young man who I had heard play the Goldberg at 14 , Diabelli at 15 and a gladiatorial BBC contest with Etonian, Ryan Wang both playing Rachmaninov’s second concerto televised live )
Jack in the box indeed as our Jacky having given a good Chopin recital in Perivale just ten days ago now produced performances of other works of Chopin that were blessed by the Gods.
A transformation that from the very first notes of the B minor Scherzo held me mesmerised as I had been with his mentor on Maidenhead station just three days ago.
Power and technical mastery went hand in hand in a passionate outpouring of poetic drive. Simple beauty of the Christmas song that Chopin incorporates in his inimitable way, playing with whispered confessions of the deep nostalgia for his homeland that is born into the very fabric of the refined Parisian suit that the impeccable Chopin chose to wear.
An explosion of playing as Jacky let rip with exhilaration and brilliance and a breathtaking coda where he had no need to add the double octaves of lesser showmen !
Four early Mazurkas where Jacky brought his youthful mastery to bear with beguiling beauty and subtle colouring . A luminosity and teasing sense of rhythmic flexibility bursting into a dance of nostalgia and captivating beauty . The B minor played as a true tone poem with a sense of haunting nostalgia leading to such a refined final farewell .
No wonder Schumann described these jewels as ‘canons covered in flowers ‘.
But if these are the canons how are we to describe the Polonaises? Full of brilliance, contrasting with Chopin’s inimitable bel canto just waiting to take over from the dynamic drive and breathtaking exuberance. The very first of Chopin’s published Polonaises was probably written at the age that Jacky is now. It was this self identification with Chopin’s world that was so captivating,with the bursts of ravishing bel canto of great improvised freedom and beauty . Jacky has an enormous palette of sounds as he could pass from whispered asides to great sumptuous outbursts.
The mystery he brought to the E flat minor Polonaise showed the Genius of Chopin who could take this traditional form and imbue it with poetic poignancy and significance . It was remarkable too how Jacky played this mysterious element without pedal revealing a stark skeleton deep in Chopin’s heart uncovering wonderful mysteries igniting the imagination of this young artist .
Chopin’s Second Ballade was played with remarkable contrasts as this young man could pass from poetic lilting beauty to the dynamic chiselled precision of virtuosistic mastery .Throwing himself into the coda with controlled mastery but with uncontrolled passion where we could all feel with him the burning intensity of the final flourish. But even with burnt fingers finding solace in gently looking back without anger or rancour .
Having heard in the afternoon a great performance of the B minor Sonata I was not expecting to be swept off my feet by Jacky’s B flat minor Sonata in the evening .
Eric Lu , another in this gladiatorial contest, played both together in the same programme in the great theatre in Warsaw as part of their Chopin and Europe Festival . Not being streamed I was unable to comment but I feel that although it may not be too much for a fine musician, it may certainly be too much for the public. I remember a very fine pianist having to give two performances of the final concert in his Beethoven Series, such was the public demand . A monumental Trilogy that would be impossible for an Arrau or Serkin to repeat. As a renowned critic confided, not only were they totally spent after such an experience but the audience was too , and an immediate repeat after a quick cup of tea would have been unthinkable !
Jacky like Wierciński gave these two masterworks the space they need at the end of a programme, because after this , silence is needed in order to be able to digest such genial mastery.
Both Jacky and Wierciński chose to play the same encore of the Waltz op 18
Coincidence? Or are they truly so immersed in Chopin’s world that it was not their decision but decided by that mysterious aura that can sometimes pervade the altar that the hallowed concert hall can become?
Jacky gave a masterly performance of the B flat minor sonata ( neither artist risking pointless discussions about first movement repeats)
Jacky opening with explosive authority as the incessant pulsating of the ‘doppio movimento’ brought us to the aristocratic nobility of the development ( something of the same unsettling menace of the E flat minor Polonaise revealed here too ) And if he slightly overplayed the final few bars it was because he is a young man passionately committed, and as Barbirolli said of Jaqueline Dupré : ” If you don’t play with passion at that age what do you pare off later?”
A scherzo played with fearless mastery and a sweeping beauty to the central episode played with great lines of architectural authority usually associated with the vintage of a Perlemuter or Tagliaferro.
A Funeral March played with simple mastery and unbending rhythmic precision imbued with intense significance . Jed Distler, the renowned NY critic and competition commentator , whispered his admiration to me as the music was allowed to unfold with unusual controlled musicianship .
‘The wind over the graves’ may be as Cortot described the last movement of ‘ Chopin’s craziest children’ but Jacky played it with subtle colouring and a shape that made the final monumental cadence so inevitably right.
A party afterwards hosted by the most beautiful of Peacocks in the sumptuous surrounds of a reborn Leighton House just waiting for more of Lisa’s youthful discoveries .
https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2021/11/13/dmitri-alexeev-mastery-and-communication-beyond-all-boundaries/
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