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Tuesday, Dec 02, 2008
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Brilliance and warmth in recital |
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| Brilliance and warmth in recital | |
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by Rod Parke -
SGN A&E Writer BENAROYA HALL Gil Shaham is blessed with every virtue one could wish for in a recitalist: talent and technique to spare, great musical insight, and an engaging charm that immediately connects with his audience. In his Benaroya recital he took the stage with eager, large strides and, having flashed a welcoming smile, began sharing his love of the music at hand. The program was well chosen. Something unfamiliar and interesting (a sonata by William Walton), something from the core repertoire (a Bach solo sonata), and a second half of crowd pleasers that no one could resist. It would be hard to find fault with this recital. I cannot, for example, imagine a more satisfactory partnership than that between Shaham and his young accompanist, Akira Eguchi. This pianist could, I'm sure, provide a most satisfying concert on his own. His technique allowed him to play with so little extraneous movement that at times it was difficult to notice the motion of his fingers that were producing sounds of utter clarity. His hands seemed to glide with an uncanny, fluid grace, yet his music had punch and power when needed. Quite beguiling! Eguchi and Shaham seemed at all times totally in sync both musically and emotionally. They communicated a youthful joy even when the music was of a mostly serious nature. That they concertize often was obvious from their rapport. Shaham is a handsome man in his thirties. His posture reflected the intensity of his music, with knees often bent and his body reflecting everything from drama to ecstatic repose. At times he seemed to address Eguchi while still including us in his delivery. In an unfamiliar work like the Walton sonata, his movements actually helped guide my attention to the changes, whether of phrasing or of dynamics or emotional content. The work held one's interest and made us wish to get to know it better. Bach's "Sonata No. 2 in A minor" for solo violin is, of course, a supreme masterpiece of incredible harmonic richness that makes impossible demands upon the player. Thus, it is both a work of profound musical worth and a virtuosic showpiece. Shaham delivered the goods on every level. Interestingly enough, his tone, which in the Walton seemed of modest size, bloomed in this solo work to fill Benaroya Hall with warmth and ample size. The 1699 Stradivarius he played responded like an affectionate cat under loving hands. The second half of this evening was a lesson in how to take the most popular of classical music and make it fresh, passionate, soaring, and irresistible. In lesser hands, the Spanish, often gypsy-related melodies of blind composer Joaquín Rodrigo and those of Pablo de Sarasate can sound banal and shallow. Especially de Sarasate, a great violinist of the late 19th century, can appeal for his often indigenous tunes but wear thin when played with sentimentality. Shaham and Eguchi played these works (Rodrigo's "Sonata Pimpante" and three short pieces of de Sarasate) as high art. They embraced the fervent emotions therein without a trace of shyness, making the moments priceless. The same can be said for the encore: Brahms' (arr. Joachim) "Hungarian Dance No. 4 in B minor." Reviewer Rod Parke can be reached at rod@sgn.org |
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