Ken Turner

Writer, pianist, pundit

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Lars Vogt at Alice Tully, New York 2017

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Alice Tully Hall for Lars Vogt April 9 2017

Waiting for Lars Vogt at Alice Tully, April 9 2017

On April 9th, 2017 I was privileged to attend Lars Vogt‘s recital of Bach’s Goldberg variations at Alice Tully Hall in New York.

I love the Aria that begins and closes the Variations, but I do not know everything in between. This was over an hour of pianistic embroidery, uniquely interpreted by each artist who plays it. I myself am partial to Andras Schiff.

Lars Vogt

Lars Vogt was a clean and disciplined performer. His feet did not touch pedal during the entire performance, leaving him squirming at times to find somewhere to put them. His crisp articulation never seemed mechanical, because of his exquisite ornamentals and an almost surreal ability to separate voices in a constantly changing weave.

Overall, this recital was quintessential, crystalline Baroque, with a distinctly masculine strength. No simpering beauty here! It was what the Alice Tully crowd wanted, because Mr. Vogt drew cheers afterwards.

New York Audience

I don’t have much to say about the perfection of Vogt’s performance, but the same can not be said of his audience. I recall the gentleman, if I dare use that term, who used his  iPhone flashlight to read his program. He shone that light into the corner of my eye until I saw spots. And the lady sat next to him, who pencilled scratchily on sheet music through the entire performance. If this is the cultural elite of New York, you know what you can do with it.

My experience of Lars Vogt’s Alice Tully audience was par for the New York classical audience in general. Who among us has not been victim of an American entrepreneur who, at lights down, leaps from behind to snare a vacant seat in front of us? Or the young woman who helped herself to an empty seat next to me and illicitly recorded video of Khatia Buniatishvili while the glare from her phone distracted everyone around her?

We all want to play New York

In the country of my birth, such behavior would result in the offender being hissed into submission. Or perhaps, he would be beaten by rolled up umbrellas wielded by old ladies. In an eastern European country that I recently visited, the audiences were so respectful that I was embarrassed even to raise my camera. But New York? Ah, New York! I can’t say anything, because we all want to play New York (including your reviewer, if truth be told).

You want an encore?

When the audience called for an encore, Lars Vogt picked up the sheet music from the piano and held it up to us. I played the entire Goldberg Variations with no intermission and you want an encore? I had to agree with him. What can surpass 75 minutes of such bejeweled treasure?

Virna Kljakovic at Lisinski Hall, Zagreb

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Virna Kljakovic at Lisinksi, Zagreb

Virna Kljakovic at Lisinksi Hall, Zagreb 2017

On March 20th, 2017, pianist Virna Kljakovic gave a recital at Lisinski Concert Hall (Lisinski Concertna Dvorana) in Zagreb as part of the Mladi u Lisinskom (Youth at Lisinski) program.

Lisinski was just a 5 minute walk from my hotel along Zagreb’s wide urban corridor Ulica Grada Vukovara. This was the fourth and last performance by young Croatian pianists that I would see on this trip.

Virna Kljakovic

I first saw pianist Virna Kljakovic (bio here) perform on YouTube. Her Chopin – Nocturne in F Minor, Op 55, No 1 video has over 250,000 views now. But my favorite was her Bach-Busoni Chaconne in D minor BWV 1004. When I learned that this work was the anchor for her Lisinski recital, and that she would close with Schubert’s divine B flat major Sonata, I started making plans. 4300 miles later, I was at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall.

Lisinski Mala Dvorana entrance

Entrance to Mala Dvorana

Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall

Lisinski is Croatia’s national concert venue, comparable in standing to New York’s Carnegie Hall. The Mala Dvorana (Small Hall) at Lisinski is an intimate, modern performance space, somewhat larger than Carnegie Weill. The stage had a black backdrop, and the piano was a glistening black Steinway.

Bach – Busoni: Chaconne in D minor, BWV 1004

Virna Kljakovic performing at Lisinksi, Zagreb

Virna Kljakovic performing at Lisinksi Hall, March 2017

When the dark-haired Ms. Kljakovic entered wearing floor-length long-sleeved black clothing, the ambience was perfect for the somber grandeur of the D minor Chaconne.

This work is Busoni’s arrangement of the Chaconne from Bach’s 300-year-old Violin Partita No. 2 for solo violin. How do you make a piano sound like a violin? Well of course you don’t (even in an arrangement for one hand). Busoni’s dense harmonies make the piano sound more like an organ, and the arrangement is closer in spirit to Bach’s D minor Toccata and Fugue BWV 565.

Virna Kljakovic is a physically powerful pianist, well-suited to the demands of this work. Her opening progression was strong but never overweight, and her restrained pacing made the stately Chaconne ebb and flow like the tide. She seemed equally at home using her left hand like the feet of an organist, or both hands in delicate passages in the upper registers.

I struggle to explain how Ms. Kljakovic managed to paint a Chaconne that is more satisfying than, for example, Helene Grimaud‘s. Grimaud is more refined, but Kljakovic’s rapturous spirituality was compelling. Then there is Kissin. He has tremendous control, while Virna can blur more complex passages. But Kissin tinkers with tempo and over-interprets the finale, while Kljakovic closed with suitably direct and cataclysmic finality.

Franck: Prelude, Fugue and Variation in B minor, Op.18

Franck’s poignantly evocative piece was a welcome contrast to the weighty Chaconne. Ms. Kljakovic’s delivery was pleasantly lyrical, with adept pedal work that allowed Franck’s harmonics to glow continuously throughout the work.

Blagoje Bersa: Mélancolie, op. 76

Blagoje Bersa is a Croatian composer and national treasure. As played by Virna Kljakovic, Mélancolie is a 3-minute salon jewel that swells up in a cloud of harmonics and ebbs away with hints of Gershwin to a reflective close. At moments it resembled the preceding Franck variations. Pianists please take note: Mélancolie would make an excellent encore.

Schubert: Piano Sonata in B Flat Major, D. 960

This famous Sonata opens with a widely-loved melody that sends shivers through this reviewer. For the pianist, every note and nuance must be perfect in order to maintain the spell. Virna Kljakovic had the opening mastered, allowing her to be at her most expressive. I admire how she risked holding back longer at key moments, to great effect.

In the second movement (Andante Sostenuto) the pianist’s affinity for dramatic repertoire was evident. The performance was consummate Kljakovic, sonorous, reflective, and at times painfully beautiful.

The Scherzo was uneven, but the dancing bass of the Trio had clarity and punch. The closing Allegro, at times sounding like Beethoven, was delivered with engaging rubato and playful vigor. I had the distinct impression that the pianist was enjoying herself.

Authenticity

In live performances, we expect more from the pianist than can be captured as audio. From the showmanship of Lang Lang to the gravity of Kissin, top artists use every available modality.

Kljakovic’s grace at the keyboard is noted by her YouTube followers, and was evident at Lisinski. I see similar expressiveness of hand and arm in other pianists from the Zagreb Academy of Music. Somebody there is doing a very good job.

There was no bravado or artifice in Virna Kljakovic’s delivery. Every aspect of her performance was focused on authentic musical expression. When transported, she would tilt her head back and sing inaudibly. The last pianist I saw become so lost in her art was Khatia Buniatishvili, and the audience loved her for it.

Virna Kljakovic’s audience loved her too. She took three rowdy curtain calls and on the last, gave the longest bow I have ever seen from a pianist. It was an unforgettable “thank you” from a unique young artist to her supporters.

 

Pianist Michael Bulychev-Okser at Central Park West

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Michael Bulychev-Okser with host Robin Shoemaker

Michael Bulychev-Okser with host Robin Shoemaker

I first saw Michael Bulychev-Okser while I was meeting other guests in the foyer of Mr. Shoemaker’s home at Central Park West. While many pianists seclude themselves backstage prior to performing, our pianist for this December evening stood nearby, friendly and engaged.

This was a good sign. At Mr. Shoemaker’s salon concerts there is no stage to elevate the pianist, and no stage lighting to isolate the performer. The pianist and the audience inhabit the same space, and Bulychev-Okser appeared ready to make the most of this.

Michael Bulychev-Okser

Bulychev-Okser is an enterprising and accomplished pianist and composer who began his studies in Russia and now lives in the United States. You can find his extensive bio on the web site of the Gershwin International Music Competition, which he founded and directs. He also founded the Alion Baltic International Music Festival.

Low-key Style

Mr. Bulychev-Okser’s low-key style made it easy for him to connect with his audience, despite his imposing résumé. He introduced each work to us, sometimes with humorous anecdotes, before playing it. At the keyboard, he did not indulge in theatrical gestures or other artifice to tell his audience how to feel: he just played his heart out for us.

The Program

The program was heavily weighted toward piano arrangements. Here is the detail, with links to representative YouTube videos.

  • Von Bulow, arr. Liszt – Dante “Tanto gentile e tanto onesta” S. 479
  • Glinka, arr. Balakirev – The Lark (Olga Scheps)
  • Brahms, arr. Schutt- Lullaby (Bulychev-Okser)
  • Arensky, arr. Siloti – By the Fountain (Zeynelova)
  • Alabyev, arr. Liszt – The Nightingale (Bulychev-Okser)
  • Kreisler, Arr. Rachmaninov – Liebeslied (Rachmaninov!)
  • Rachmaninov – Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 33, No. 2 in C Major, No. 5 in D Minor
  • Bulychev-Okser – Hermes and Satire – Jazz Fantasy
  • Gershwin, arr. Wilde – The Man I love & Somebody Loves Me
  • Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue Potpourri

Russian

The repertoire was substantially Russian, from Balakirev/Glinka thru Arensky, Alabyev and Rachmaninov. And Bulychev-Okser himself came across as a seriously Russian pianist. No surprise there, given his Moscow Conservatory roots.

But if Bulychev-Oksner had not spoken to us in his melodic Russian accent, would his performance have felt so Russian? Was I deluding myself into perceiving the authenticity of Glinka/Balakirev’s plaintive Lark, Rachmaninov’s soulfulness, or the balalaika-like dance that breaks out around 2 minutes into The Nightingale? I don’t think so!

I’m used to softer versions of The Nightingale, but I loved how Bulychev-Okser threw himself into this piece. He made the floor shake and our ears ring. You don’t often see a world-class pianist stomping the sustain pedal as if he were wearing Cossack boots. In a less intimate performance space, everyone would have cheered.

American

It was harder for me to relate to the concluding elements of the program, including Bulychev-Okser’s own composition, because I don’t understand jazz. However I enjoy Gershwin, and looked forward to the Rhapsody in Blue Potpourri. Unfortunately the original work (here) outshines any substitute. So I was a little underwhelmed, through no fault of the pianist.

An Evening of Contrasts

The piano sang when Bulychev-Okser played Russian repertoire. When his program shifted from Russian to American it was more in keeping with his adopted country’s culture, but less compelling. While America is also my adopted country, I personally preferred Bulychev-Okser’s Russian material. Finally, I don’t think that anyone who attended will forget his floor-shaking Nightingale.