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Saturday, Mar 20, 2010
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Hitting the Road for Piano Thrills |
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| Hitting the Road for Piano Thrills | ||
| by Rod Parke -
SGN A&E Writer Nicolai Lugansky, Piano, with Seattle Symphony and in Solo Recital February 14-15 Benaroya Hall, Seattle, and Vancouver Playhouse, Vancouver, BC When dashing Russian pianist Nicolai Lugansky played at Meany Hall a couple years ago, I was initially put off by his patrician manner at the keyboard. He seemed above acknowledging our presence. But I was won over by his huge tone, technical prowess, and poetic musicality. Thus, I looked forward to hearing him again, this time with the Seattle Symphony, to be followed the next evening by a recital in Vancouver, BC. The Seattle concert began with Ravel's "La Valse." What a shock! The Seattle Symphony, which last week had made Berlioz sound German, sounded French! Strings had taken on a gossamer lightness and transparency, while balances made the whole sound airy, revealing every instrument. Even the intentionally dark, murky beginning was, at the very threshold of hearing, perfectly clear. The casual symphony visitor could not have failed to notice this utterly different kind of sonic beauty. The cause of this transformation was, of course, guest conductor JoAnn Falletta. It sounded as though she had asked the strings to lighten up on their bows. Also, all evening the median volume was lower than under Schwarz, thus allowing greater dynamic expression when the big moments came along. Great singers learn the art of soft singing, so that they have somewhere to go when passion requires louder outbursts. Falletta showed us that the same principle applies to orchestral playing. Thus, pianist Lugansky had an especially beautiful and responsive orchestra backing him in the Rachmaninov 'Piano Concerto No. 1.' While the orchestral sound was no longer French, it retained a luminous transparency that revealed Rachmaninov's effective use of the instrumental choirs. Memories of this pianist's exceptionally big tone were easily confirmed, with the spectacular cadenza to the first movement especially awesome. Falletta kept the big orchestral forces beautifully balanced, both with the piano and amongst themselves. Sweeping grand moments flowed naturally from poetic moments of repose, helping to highlight the content of this emotional music. Returning to the French, Fauré's 'Requiem' filled the second half. Joyce Guyer, Michael Anthony McGee, and the Seattle Symphony Chorale joined a very small orchestra for this, the most feminine of Requiems. Two horns, two double basses, four celli, and a handful of strings provided ample support for the generally excellent singing. I much prefer a boy soprano for the solo part, but Ms. Guyer was more than adequate. Shadings by the Chorale were exquisite, yet the overall softness of the 'Requiem' was a curious way to end a concert. The excellent Vancouver Recital Society nabbed Nicolai Lugansky for a solo recital at the small Vancouver Playhouse, which is even more ideal acoustically than Meany Hall at the UW. The pianist offered a program of Janácek, Prokofiev, and Chopin. Though I love Janácek's operas and instrumental works, I found his 'Sonata No. 1' less than fascinating and lacking the composer's usual intensity. Selections from Prokofiev's piano version of 'Romeo and Juliet' showed off Lugansky's mastery of tone, facility, and lyric poetry, but I had trouble not recalling the orchestral version and missing some of its fun. The second half, however, made the long drive to BC more than worthwhile. Chopin's "Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45" flowed with elegance and warmth of tone, making us suddenly feel like a small parlor of friends. While the 'Sonata No. 3 in B minor' that followed did not make me toss my Rubenstein recording, it lacked nothing at all. Musical coherence and lyric ecstasy rode side by side with gorgeous sounds full of delicious changes that made every moment engaging. And of course the virtuosic "Finale" was breathtaking. He rewarded the enthusiasm of the audience with two etudes, the first by Rachmaninov and the second by Chopin. Reviewer Rod Parke can be reached at rmp62@columbia.edu. |
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