Ken Turner

Writer, pianist, pundit

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2018 Site Reset and Recital Reviews

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Ken Turner at Carnegie Hall

The Author outside Carnegie Hall

Site History

I had a lot of fun blogging about current affairs when I started kenturner.net in 2012. But everything changed when I took up learning the piano in July 2014 at the age of 63.

Piano Recital Reviews

Over time, my site drifted to contain mostly piano recital reviews. But it is devilishly hard to write a personalized recital review and publish it in a timely fashion, particularly if you already have a full-time job. Writing reviews started to feel too much like work, and unfortunately I did not review of some best concerts of 2017.

Seon-Jin Cho

I most regret not reviewing Seon-Jin Cho‘s February 2017 Carnegie recital. I recall how skinny the pianist was, how restrained the first half of the recital seemed, and how he came wildly alive after the intermission. And I remember endless shrieks of delight from younger female members of the audience as the pianist stuck jagged poses for Chopin, eclipsing even Lang Lang at his most showy.

Site Reset

My reviews are a personal record of recitals I have attended, but they are a sideline. Now retired, I have time to blog about my primary interest: discovering the piano as an older adult. I started learning piano 55 years too late (by some accounts), but the experience has been life-changing.

This week I start work on the new face of kenturner.net. No content will be deleted, but links to existing posts may change. I hope to use URL redirects to minimize breakage in review links, but that’s just a theory at this point.

Nina Scheidmantel Carnegie Hall Debut

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Nina Scheidmantel at Carnegie

Nina Scheidmantel at Carnegie

On Saturday October 29, 2016, I went to Carnegie Weill to see pianist Nina Scheidmantel’s Carnegie debut recital. I had decided to attend based on her web site and some videos on YouTube. While the videos were quirky (in more than one her dress magically changed while she was on stage) I could see that she was capable.

Presented by the Artist

Nina’s recital was billed as “Presented by the Artist”, meaning that it was privately funded. I wondered if I might get to meet her manager and gain insight into how to set up such an event myself.

German-Chinese Pianist

Two hours before Ms. Scheidmantel’s concert I stopped by at Carnegie to photograph her poster. An elfin gentleman in some kind of dress clothing appeared by my side, asking if he could interest me in the recital. When I showed him my ticket, we became instant friends.

It turned out that this affable gentleman was managing Ms. Scheidmantel’s recital. He told me that as a German-Chinese pianist, Ms. Scheidmantel had given recitals in China and earned interest from both Chinese and German authorities, some of whom were expected to attend this performance. It promised to be a great evening.

Balcony at Carnegie Weill

I had not been upstairs at Carnegie Weill before, and was delighted to find that my front and center keyboard-side seat was just perfect. Weill is small (around 260 seats) so even in the balcony I was closer to the performer than most of the audience are in the 2800-seat Stern Auditorium. I had brought my concert binoculars, but I did not need them.

Program and Artist

Nina’s program included Ravel, Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms and Prokofiev. After a brief announcement by the gentleman I had met earlier, Ms. Scheidmantel came on stage in an elegant floor-length black gown, with her hair up in a sparkling silver tiara. I was struck by how tall she was, and how much more Chinese she looked compared with her Carnegie Hall poster. Two of my favorite pianists (Lang Lang and Yuja Wang) are Chinese, so my expectations grew accordingly.

Of Pianists and Dragons

Ms. Scheidmantel attacked her Ravel vigorously. Although Valses Nobles et Sentimentales opens percussively, I have never thought of it as bombastic, but that was how Ms. Scheidmantel came across. Indeed, that was how she also played Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms. At the end of each piece, she clenched her arms in a victorious flourish, as if she had just slain a dragon.

Release the Pedal, Nina!

Nina had a signature move where she would sustain a single note at the end of a section, long enough to transform it into something magical. Unfortunately she came off the pedal so slowly that sometimes she fell foul of damper mechanics. The resonating string would buzz for a long second, making it sound frayed. Was this a flaw in the regulation of the house Steinway, or should Nina have lifted her foot more decisively?

More Nuanced

I struggled to repress my discomfort at the endless Sturm und Drang of Nina’s performance. While I was struck by how physically powerful she was at the keyboard, I wish that she had included something more nuanced in her program. If I were her manager I would advise her to switch out Schumann in favor of something leaner. Chopin’s C minor Nocturne Op. 48 No 1 would have suited her style well and made for a rounder program.

Expectations

After the Brahms I felt that Nina had shown us everything that she could do, so I left. I felt good about supporting a relatively unknown artist, but bad that I had expected more of her than was reasonable. I was also disappointed at the choice of repertoire, which may have contributed to my perception of the pianist as a little heavy-handed.

The gentleman managing the recital had told me that this was not a publicity event so much as a family celebration and Nina’s personal dream. As a pianist myself I can relate to this dream, but when you sell tickets to the public you put yourself in the public eye, and the public has expectations.

Nina Scheidmantel – a Spirited Performance

Nina Scheidmantel carried off her Carnegie debut well for someone so early in her career. She appeared totally at ease and gave a spirited performance that speaks well for her future. I hope that as she matures artistically and her repertoire grows, we will see her again in New York.

Kissin at Carnegie, November 2015

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Evgeny Kissin at NYC Carnegie Hall

Evgeny Kissin after playing Beethoven at Carnegie Hall, November 3rd, 2015

I saw Evgeny Kissin perform on November 3rd, 2015 at Carnegie Hall, with my daughter Annie. We had fabulous seats over stage right. Could not see the keyboard, but that didn’t matter.  I was not there to learn anything, I was there to enjoy and to remind myself just how far I still have to go as a pianist.

A few weeks before this event, I had attended a Lang Lang recital at Carnegie. I was surprised that my pianist friends were not so thrilled about Lang Lang. The message I got was yeah, sure, Lang Lang is good but he’s not Kissin. Since I thought Lang Lang was awesome, my expectations on this night were extremely high.

The Stern Auditorium was packed. There were even seats on stage for about 100 people. Kissin did not keep us waiting like Lang Lang, and his shoes did not call out for attention. This was a performer who had no need to sell himself. He bowed both to the audience in the main hall, and to the lucky souls behind the piano who had wangled a seat on stage. Somehow, I felt that I was in the presence of greatness.

Warm-up candy: Mozart

The recital opened with Mozart’s Sonata in C Major.  This was pleasant and precisely articulated, but not the kind of music I would go out of my way to listen to. For Mr. Kissin, it was good warm-up candy before going for the big stuff.

Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata

Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata came next.  In comparison with Mozart’s little kitty-cat, Beethoven was a tiger that allowed Kissin’s mastery to shine. With his shaggy hair, you could have imagined that he was Beethoven himself. I can’t describe for you the power that Kissin has, and what it was like to listen to him play this monster of a sonata, but it left me stunned. I don’t know who I admire more, good old Ludwig or this fabulous Russian pianist.

Kissin’s Brahms Intermezzo #1 – MEH!

After the intermission, Kissin played 3 Brahms Intermezzos. I am particularly fond of #1, but I was disturbed at what felt like excessive rubato in his rendition.   I suppose that the greatest pianist in the world is entitled to play it his own way, but my “gold standard” is the one at this link: J. Brahms, Intermezzo op. 117. no. 1, Virna Kljakovic.

The rest of the evening was mostly Spanish (Albeniz, Larregla) music, which at any other event would have been captivating, but for me the concert really ended after Beethoven’s Appassionata, since I felt let down by the Brahms. Not even the strong delivery of Larregla’s Viva Navarra could offset the feeling that Mr. Kissin, world’s greatest pianist, didn’t “get” the Brahm’s Intermezzo. I imagine that he would disagree, but unfortunately I didn’t get to chat with him afterwards.

The bow says everything

When Mr. Kissin took his bows on this November night at Carnegie, he came forward and stood, head tilted back for a few seconds, radiant and gracious in our applause, before bowing.  It was as if he were transformed by music, and we with him.