Categoria: Senza categoria

Monumental Brahms from Louis Lortie tonight and as he rightly pointed out at the end of an extraordinary performance of the F minor Sonata it was in no small way thanks to the magnificent Bosendorfer at last in its rightful place on the stage of the Wigmore Hall.
Chosen especially for the hall some years ago by Andras Schiff it has been known as the most expensive green room piano ,as nearly all artist go for the home Steinways or even import a Fazioli.
The fully orchestral sounds that he was able to muster in the Brahms was due in part to the remarkable bass that this instrument has, allowing the piano to open up not only to sumptuous full sonorous orchestral tuttis but also to the more intimate reflective episodes.
Of course the taught rhythmic control that Lortie exhibited was rare indeed but essential for the structure of this difficult work.So often without this total control the work can seem very episodic.
This was certainly not the case here .
Infact by the time he got to the sublime slow movement he had the public in his hand on one of those rare occasions reminiscent of Rubinstein or Curzon when audience ,performer and music become one……..in short there was magic in the air.
Lortie had totally won the confidence of this discerning public who trusted him as they would a Perahia or Zimmerman never to lead them astray but to show them the wonders and beauty of a work as if being heard for the first time.
Spectacular Scherzo leading to a magical introduction to the last movement that was again held under complete control so when the final coda erupts it was even more of a surprise for him that for us.
The first half of this extraordinary programme was made up of Mozart A minor Sonata K.310 and Beethoven op.101.
Both played with a rigour that did not exclude sensitivity or tenderness when required.
I personally would have preferred not to have ornaments added in the repeats of the Mozart as if the ornament was a variant and not simply an expressive device.However it was very discretely added but maybe not necessary for someone who sees and feels so clearly the overall line of these masterpieces with a simplicity and directness that does not need variants .
Op 101 was characterised again by very taught rhythmic control allied to an intelligence and complete understanding of style .
The Bosendorfer in the first half,though, was less convincing as one felt there could have been more variety of sound on a different instrument.When it came to Brahms this suited the highly orchestral type of writing perfectly whereas the instrumental writing of Beethoven and Mozart in these two sonatas never has the deep sonorous bass notes that abound in the F minor Sonata and are so much part of this very fine Bosendorfer.
A standing ovation for a remarkable evening with a true musician who after much insistence offered a beautifully simple but persuasive performance of Mozart’s Fantasie in D minor ……..too easy for children but too difficult for adults as Schnabel would say ,but not on this occasion the magic had been set and was there to stay.

“Ravishing” I think is the word that Hugh Mather was searching for when, in his enthusiasm, he exclaimed that the recital by Dinara Klinton at St Barnabas today was the best he has ever heard .
In fact this remarkable “Deus ex macchina” of Ealing and Perivale should know as he has clocked up well over a thousand concerts in his notable efforts to help give a platform to some of the most remarkable young talents around.
Dinara would ,indeed, be a godsend to any piano dealer because every piano she touches turns to gold .
This old concert Bosendorfer came into its own with the very first Scarlatti sonata that Dinara offered.A very subtly coloured Sonata in B minor K.87 followed by a most exhilarating performance of the famous Horn call Sonata in D minor K 96.
But it was the Beethoven that Hugh Mather, in particular. was alluding to .The little sonata op 78″ A Therese”.

The opening theme seemingly entering on the scene as though it had been hovering in the wings all the time , such was the legato found by Dinara Klinton.Rarely can the opening of a sonata have sounded so perfect .Followed by such a cohesive performance of such rhythm allied to  velvety rich sound one was reminded of that other great Russian Beethovenian Emil Gilels.
Dinara has just recorded the Liszt Transcendental Studies to rave reviews from the critics, and is BBC record of the month voted on record review no less( Genuin Classics 16409).So it was very good to be offered three of the most poetic of them to end her recital.
Three real tone poems in every sense.
Vision had one wondering where all the magical sounds were coming from .Never a harsh sound but a sound that grew and diminished like a great wave of sound that she made us believe Liszt intended.
Eroica ,not the usual barnstorming that we are often submitted to but some real subtle shading added of course to some transcendental piano playing.
We are all aware of the famous recordings by Petri and Godowsky of La Ricordanza but this was equally as poetic and this miniature tone poem ,perhaps the most poetic and complete of all 12 Studies ,allowed the Bosendorfer to sing like the magnificent piano it had once been.
It was like a picture of and old faded foto,full of nostalgia and atmosphere from a bygone age .Or course by great demand of our host Dinara could not disappoint him and so treated us to her unbelievably perfect performance of Feux Follets ,one of the most subtly difficult pieces in the piano repertoire
Making some considerations about Piano Competitions, the other day with reference to the Belgium QE Competition.
Dinara is a case in point as she arrived only into the semi final of this and the Warsaw competition and although she did not win the coveted first prize in Warsaw she did win the audience prize.
She tells me she is also going back to Brussells in these days to play a concert for someone that heard her play during the competition.She was also heard all over the world in both on streaming and who knows what awaits her.
It is also rumoured, so Hugh tells me ,that she is being taken under the wing of another great lady pianist.
So you see talent will out in the end and it is not only the first prize winners that are justly helped, but many other great artists before the public today that have not had that mutlifaceted talent that allows them to excel in the gladiatorial arena but have succeeded to gain an audience through years of extraordinarily committed performances …….It may be of interest some of my recent consideration on this subject. .https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.wordpress.com/