Public concerts Archives

Pianist Gábor Farkas at the Classical Bridge Festival

Tuesday, July 30th, 2019 by Ken Leave a Comment

Pianist Gábor Farkas performed at the Bruno Walter Auditorium in New York on July 29th, 2019. This event was part of the Classical Bridge Festival organized by New York Concert Artists & Associates.

Farkas’ program of Chopin and Liszt was enticing. It consisted of 4 Impromptus, a Mazurka (C sharp minor Op. 50 No. 3) and a Ballade (No. 1, G minor) by Chopin, followed by selections from Liszt’s Années de Pelèrinages.

Farkas has a long list of credentials and came on stage projecting relaxed confidence. His technical prowess was soon evident. His fast runs were so smooth that one could (hypothetically) balance a glass of wine on the back of his hands. He looked VERY good.

Chopin

I love Chopin and if you play Chopin well, I love you too! I wanted to be enchanted by Gábor Farkas, but somehow I wasn’t. Nowhere was this more evident than in Chopin’s painful yet ultimately triumphant Ballade No. 1 in G minor.

Farkas lost me in the opening bars due to a moment of unconvincing rubato, but regained his momentum and turned in a respectable performance with plenty of fireworks. When he finished, there was rowdy cheering.

While Farkas was agile and expressive, something felt “off” about this Ballade. I consulted the gentleman in the next seat. We agreed that it was a problem of authenticity. Farkas’ played with great competence, but the music did not seem to inhabit him.

Liszt

In contrast, Gábor Farkas was in his element with Liszt, excelling in low-end hammering power, octaves and huge climaxes. There are few more entertaining composers than Liszt for such drama.

Later, Farkas joked that the piano would no longer be in tune. Of course Liszt would have broken it… but I digress! Liszt is not at the top of my list (sic), but it was good… listening.

Conclusion

Gábor Farkas’ signature move at the piano is tilting his head back and staring into space as he plays. This communicates little. And that was my quibble with this otherwise impressively competent pianist when playing Chopin. His feelings were opaque.

The pianist is the conductor of the audience. We like him/her to lead us, particularly with a Romantic composer like Chopin. That’s not to say that we want the pianist to over-act at the keyboard. We can leave that to the adorable Lang Lang! But give us some cues, show us that you feel something.

There are subtle and not-so-subtle ways to project emotions to an audience. But you can’t just stare into space and expect us to know what you feel.

Pianist Cong Bi’s Carnegie Debut

Saturday, April 13th, 2019 by Ken Leave a Comment

Cong Bi’s Carnegie Hall Debut

On April 12th 2019, Chinese pianist Cong Bi strolled on stage in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall for his Carnegie debut.

Relaxed and confident, he looked dashing in patent leather shoes, blue jacket and grey-ish pants.

A tall man with shoulder-length hair, Cong Bi stood with his hand over his heart for a few moments, prompting shrieks from the audience.

The last male pianist whom I saw have this effect at Carnegie was Korean superstar Seon Jin Cho.

Beethoven: Sonata No. 23 Op 57 (Appassionata)

This work was a bold opening gambit for Cong Bi’s Carnegie debut. He engaged the allegro assai with the conviction that we expect from a seasoned performer. However his arpeggios seemed rushed. That which should have glittered was too often blurry.

If Cong Bi overreached during the first movement, he made amends with his authentic andante con moto. This reviewer appreciated the left hand voicing in particular.

Schumann: Davidsbündlertänze, Op 6

Cong Bi Carnegie Debut April 2019 Sold Out

Cong Bi – SOLD OUT!

Cong Bi’s rendition of this work was generally balanced and sweet, occasionally flamboyant. Since the works of Schumann mostly leave this reviewer unmoved, it would not be fair to the performer to comment further.

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Cong Bi’s Pictures started cautiously and swelled into magnificence. This work can so easily become ponderous, but Cong Bi is not that kind of pianist. I appreciated his engaged, powerful delivery and excellent sense of timing.

However, we could have done without Cong Bi’s abrupt “pointing backwards” arm gestures! These attempts at pianistic drama did not work because they felt inauthentic. For this reviewer, only Lang Lang can get away with such gratuitous posturing.

Cong Bi jokes with his Carnegie audience April 12, 2019

Encores: Bach

The first encore was a pleasant Bach work that nobody I spoke to could identify.

The second encore was Bach’s Prelude in C Major, BWV 846. Cong Bi played this deceptively simple work with divine translucence.

I’ve commented before on how pianists’ encore choices can be revealing. At the end of the day, Cong Bi did not go for a showpiece. Instead, he went for the sublime.

After the closing bars of Bach, the pianist played a very short jazzy riff. I took this as a youthful gesture of victory: “I got this”! But maybe it was just for the young women who gave him flowers.

Closing thoughts

Cong Bi is an impressively self-assured and promising young pianist, at ease on stage and able to joust with his audience. In his Carnegie debut he showed himself to be equally at home with Beethoven’s raging Appassionata, Mussorgsky’s monumental Pictures, and Bach at his most ethereal. Watching him reminded me of the Washington Post article The Future of Classical Music is Chinese.

Cong Bi got better and better as the evening went on, but after the intermission I noticed a few empty seats. If only these people had stayed, they would have been rewarded with a stirring performance of Mussorgsky and some magical Bach. And of course, that cheeky riff!

My personal thanks to producer Qianci Liu for inviting me to this most enjoyable recital, and to the Paulus Hook Music Foundation for making it possible.

Beatrice Rana Debuts at Carnegie

Wednesday, March 13th, 2019 by Ken Leave a Comment

Pianist Beatrice Rana at her Carnegie Debut March 2019

Beatrice Rana

On Tuesday March 12th 2019, Italian pianist Beatrice Rana made her Carnegie debut at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.

A 2013 Van Cliburn competition silver medalist (see this photograph) Beatrice at age 25 has been performing in major concert halls around the world for years.

Zankel is a modest venue of about 600 seats, hardly intimidating to an experienced international pianist. But the New York audience is notoriously demanding.

Ms. Rana came on stage in an elegant, floor-length sequined copper gown. If she was nervous, the only hint might have been how quickly she got down to business.

Chopin: Twelve Etudes Op. 25

Beatrice Rana on stage at her Carnegie debut

I love New York!

The drape of the copper gown presaged the flowing arpeggios and modulations of the first Etude (“Aeolian Harp”, A-flat Major). Ms. Rana’s damper work allowed the harp-like sonorities of this etude to glow.

Throughout the Etudes, Beatrice Rana focused intently on the keyboard. She employed no visual theatrics, going little further than the occasional lift of her right eyebrow. Her left hand came nicely forward when voicing called for it. I personally liked her well-managed pedal, however some people would have preferred different handling of harmonics in certain Etudes.

Ms. Rana sailed through technical challenges such as the Op. 26 No. 6 (“Thirds”, G-sharp minor) and particularly Op. 26 No 11 (“Winter Wind”, A minor), where she showed her virtuosity and prodigious power.

The final Etude Op. 26 no 12 (“Ocean”, C-sharp minor) was masterfully executed. During this aptly-labeled Etude Ms. Rana rocked from side to side, following her hands. Swaying is intrinsic to this work, but her dinghy-like rock-and-roll was so pronounced that I wondered if it was intended as a metaphor for Chopin’s waves.

Ravel: Miroirs

Miroirs is an evocative 5-section suite for solo piano, a well-chosen programmatic bridge between Chopin and Stravinsky.

After Ms. Rana’s sublime pedalwork for Chopin, I looked forward to hearing her project the sonorities of Ravel. But although her delivery was fine, I was not entirely satisfied. I can’t point to anything specific, but it felt a little choppy.

Of course, it may be that the disconnect is on the reviewer’s side.

Stravinsky: Three Movements from The Firebird

This exciting piano transcription by Agosti of 3 sections from Stravinsky’s Firebird suite is a concert favorite. Beatrice Rana gave a spirited rendering. No harmonic muddying here! I loved her marcatissimo closing.

Encores

After the main program, Beatrice treated us to two encores by Chopin: Prelude in F# minor Opus 28 and Scherzo #18 in B flat minor. She has an obvious flair for Chopin, so it made for a fun ending to a great evening.

Pianist Beatrice Rana at Carnegie after her debut with Ken Turner

Beatrice Rana at Carnegie with author Ken Turner

Meeting Beatrice

After the recital we went to the Carnegie “Mix and Mingle” event.

To our delight Beatrice (pronounced Bay-ah-tree-cheh) Rana herself came out to join us, friendly and accommodating to her fans.

Of all the questions I had for Ms. Rana, there was time for just one. So I asked her how it felt to walk out on stage at Carnegie for the first time. “Exciting”, she gleamed.

For more about Beatrice Rana, see her web site at www.beatricepiano.com.