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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.

 

 

Khatia Buniatishvili enchants Carnegie, 2016

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Khatia Buniatishvili Carnegie 2016-12-10

Khatia Buniatishvili Carnegie 2016-12-10

On Saturday December 10th, 2016, my wife Patti and I went into New York early to stop in at Europa Cafe (205 W 57th St., recommended) before Khatia Buniatishvili’s recital at Carnegie Zankel.

The program

The repertoire for this recital was distinguished by its grandeur and virtuosity, consisting only of Mussorgsky and Liszt. It was a program of sheer audience indulgence, performed by the strikingly beautiful pianist from the Republic of Georgia.

Khatia Buniatishvili

Khatia Buniatishvili is one of the finest younger pianists that I have discovered through YouTube. Her Vernier rendition of Chopin’s E minor Prelude (Op.28 No. 4), a slow cataclysm wrapped in angel cake, is a standout performance that made her a must-see when it came time to choose a Carnegie subscription for 2016.

For Carnegie, Khatia wore a charcoal evening gown and matte black heels. She walked with grace and had a warm, embracing smile. Her stately carriage continued when she sat. I don’t think I have seen a performer with a straighter back at the piano than Ms. Buniatishvili. It felt to me like we were in the presence of musical royalty.

Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition

This piece is best known in Ravel’s orchestration, and some find the original piano score to be ponderous. But under Ms. Buniatishvili’s hands this evening, the Russkaya Dusha of Mussorgsky came through in a way that Ravel’s orchestration does not capture.

From the opening, the pianist used just the right amount of rubato to keep alive phrases that can easily become leaden. Her extensive use of una corda and rapid half-pedal on the sustain (wonderful what you can learn when you are up close) made the more reflective segments glow like the black Steinway did under the Zankel stage lighting.

On the stronger sections the pianist did everything well, but the Carnegie Steinway seemed brassy at the lower end. This had me wondering if we would have been better off with the rounder bass of a Yamaha. But perhaps it was just the acoustics.

Liszt: La Campanella, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

There were four Liszt items on the program, and with each one Ms. Buniatishvili got closer to perfection. I will discuss only the last two: La Campanella and the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.

Khatia’s La Campanella was a treat. That said, the top notes seemed too loud compared with the rest of the right hand, which is not the case in her recordings. But I was just 12 feet from the right side of the keyboard, which may have contributed to this.

Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 was, for both my wife and myself, the peak of the evening. It is an exciting virtuoso piece, and was carried off with such vigor and natural feel that it was a perfect conclusion to the program. Here is a link to Khatia’s 2015 Verbier performance, but I thought that her 2016 Carnegie Zankel performance was even better.

Oh, Khatia!

If Ms. Buniatishvili’s entrance to Zankel Hall was stately, her departure was also gracious. She preferred a simple pianist bow, sometimes with left hand on the piano, and she made a point of looking to all the audience, including upstairs and to each side. She also made direct eye contact with me in the front row, which just about blew me out of my chair.

No review of Ms. Buniatishvili would be complete without mentioning her hair. Whenever Khatia plays you will see those ragged curls fall over her eyes. Since her eyes are more often than not closed, this has no effect on her performance. We see that the performer is lost in her art, and we love her all the more for that.

What was that encore?

Khatia’s encore was delightful and familiar but other than recognizing it as Bach, I could not name it. Waiting in line after the concert to meet the artist, I conferred with my neighbors but none of us were sure. I later learned that we know it as “Sheep may safely graze”, from Bach’s Cantata BWV 208. Listen to it in the following video from an earlier Paris performance, where she appears to be wearing the same dress that she wore for Carnegie.

BACH BWV 208 – PARIS – 2016

My piano is your piano

Khatia Buniatishvili and Ken Turner

Khatia Buniatishvili and the Author at Carnegie

Whenever I go to Carnegie I hope to meet the performer, but this is the first time I succeeded. Newly purchased CD’s in hand to be autographed, I had no coherent way to express what I was feeling! But I am sure that Ms. Buniatishvili is used to goofy grins from people who find themselves in the presence of unique talent and are just happy to be there.

My piano is your piano, Khatia.

Pianist Soo Yeon Cho at Central Park West

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Soo Yeon Cho with Robin Shoemaker

Soo Yeon Cho with Robin Shoemaker

On Saturday 19th November, 2016, my daughter and I were privileged to see pianist Soo Yeon Cho at a private salon recital hosted by Robin Shoemaker in his home on Central Park West, New York.

Salon Concert

I had never been to a salon concert, so I was unsure what to expect. But our host welcomed us at his door and quickly put us at ease. With a glass of wine in hand, we enjoyed having time to connect with other guests.

The guests ranged from musicians to scientists, New Yorkers to Hungarians, and from as far away as Australia. It was inspiring to be among such a diverse audience, brought together by love of the piano. I am only sorry that there was not enough time to get to know everyone.

The Salon Concert was a different kind of experience from public recitals. I have had some great seats at Carnegie, but there is always a gulf, physical and emotional, between audience and performer. In Mr. Shoemaker’s salon we breathed the same air as the pianist, and there were no spotlights to differentiate her space from our space.

Robin Shoemaker's salon with Steinway

The salon entrance

The Salon

The recital was held in a room containing a Steinway and improvised seating for about 20. The walls were adorned with black-framed art that created a serene ambience.

During the intermission I was surprised to discover that more people had been seated in the corridor looking into the salon, and I was touched to see that our host had left the best salon seating for his guests.

Soo Yeon Cho

Ms. Cho is my piano tutor, so I was already aware of her skill and her prodigious resume. She has two degrees from Julliard, and many performance and competition successes. But being tutored by an accomplished pianist is very different from attending a professional recital by that pianist, and on this evening I finally got to understand just how good Ms. Cho was.

The Program

Our host provided a printed program for the event. The selection was well-architected, from the opening baroque thru romantics Chopin and Schubert, with a spike to Ginastera, and thence to the father of modern piano, Franz Liszt. Here is the detail, with links to other performances for readers unfamiliar with any items listed. The first link is to a prior performance by Ms. Cho herself.

The Performance

I have always thought of Domenic Scarlatti as one of “those” baroque composers that one has to whet one’s pianistic skills on out of duty more than preference. But Ms. Cho showed a special affinity for this composer and her performance brought him to life for me. Her G Major sonatas were vibrant, from the ringing K427 to the mania of K455. Her D Minor K213 sonata was haunted and moving, impressive for a composition that was born on the harpsichord.

I had been looking forward to Chopin’s C sharp Minor Nocturne (op. post.) as the highlight of the recital. It is one of my personal favorites, and as expected, Ms. Cho played it with consummate artistry.

Soo Yeon Cho at Central Park West, Nov. 2016

Ms. Cho after the recital

The Ginastera was an abrupt contrast to preceding selections. Ms. Cho tackled its challenging syncopation and rousing percussiveness with vigor. Then Schubert’s serene G Major Sonata returned us to the opening key of the evening, and to more traditional harmonies.

The recital ended with Liszt’s showpiece arrangement of Gounod’s Faust waltz (see this Vienna Philharmonic performance for the original). Here Ms. Cho showed impressive power at the keyboard, delivering an encore-like finale that brought closure to a great  evening.

A Memorable Evening

I don’t know how Mr. Shoemaker came to invite Soo Yeon Cho for his salon concert, but he chose well. As for Ms. Cho, I can’t imagine how much work she must have put into preparing for this recital. But it all worked so well that although we found ourselves in a hailstorm as we left the Shoemaker residence, we were so warm inside that it just didn’t matter.