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Pianist Han Chen at Central Park West

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Robin Shoemaker with Han Chen, May 20th 2017

At the May 20th 2017 concert at the Shoemaker salon on Central Park West, Han Chen played romantic era works by Scriabin, Schubert and Liszt.  He also played the hybrid Bach-Busoni Chaconne. What a swoon-fest!

Bach-Busoni: Chaconne in D minor

Ferrucio Busoni’s arrangement of Bach’s ethereal Violin Partita No. 2 applies romantic piano technique to baroque underpinnings. Han Chen’s signature touch was to reign in Bach’s crescendos to a precise but somber procession of thunderclaps, and then cut loose to a hectic race into the high arpeggios.

The acoustics of the Shoemaker salon were perfect for this work, enriching and damping the dominant bass. And yet, there was a detached, clinical feel to Mr. Chen’s rubato that left me wanting less cultivated drama and more instinctive passion.

Scriabin: Fantasy, Op. 28

The Scriabin Fantasy in B minor Op. 28  is a sweeping, sonorous work. I enjoyed the oceanic feel delivered by Han Chen, and was struck by his ability to bring out the color in Scriabin’s complex harmonies.

Schubert: Wanderer Fantasy, Op. 15, D. 760

In the Schubert, as with the Scriabin, Han Chen again demonstrated nuanced partial-pedal coloring. At times his right hand seemed like a passel of faeries dancing tiptoe across the upper registers. At other times his Schubert sounded Schubertianly (sic) ponderous. This is somewhat the nature of the Wanderer Fantasy, coming from the early part of the romantic era.

Liszt: Sonata in B Minor

Han Chen plays Liszt at Central Park West

Han Chen plays Liszt chez Shoemaker

Punctuated at the beginning and the end by a low staccato G, the great Liszt B Minor piano sonata is about half an hour long. This demanding work is so well-known that it has to be delivered with compelling authority, and Han Chen had no difficulty doing so.

From its deceptively simple opening to its keyboard-cracking crescendos, the slight Mr. Chen was totally on top of Liszt’s Sonata and performed it with impressive power and panache. Liszt broke pianos while playing works such as this, so I had to wonder whether Mr. Chen’s hands hurt afterwards. My ears certainly did.

Han Chen

I had no idea what to expect of Han Chen, other than the technical excellence that we take for granted in Julliard musicians. But at the end of the day, Mr. Chen’s Liszt Sonata overshadowed the rest of his program. It left most of us stunned, and your reviewer’s ears ringing.

In his closing remarks, our host Robin Shoemaker noted that in just a few days Han Chen would be participating in the Van Cliburn Competition. We wish Mr. Chen the best of luck: he certainly seems up to the challenge.

Li, Lipkina, Zimmerman: a Concert of Contrasts

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Three talented performers and host Robin at Central Park West

Zimmerman, Lipkina, Li, Shoemaker, NYC 2017-04-29

The three musicians at Robin Shoemaker’s Central Park West salon on April 29th were very different, except in one aspect: excellence. Each would have held our attention in solo recital, but thanks to our gracious host we got to experience them all.

Ning-Yuen Li

Ning-Yuen Li delivered a solid Haydn Sonata in C Major No. 58 Hob. XVI. His powered articulation gave Haydn a warm glow. But Ning’s special contribution to the evening was his gorgeous performance of Chopin’s Ballade No. 2 in F Major Op. 38. During this alternately serene and disturbed work Ning would lean far into the Steinway, as if to polish the keyboard with his distinctive forelock. Some pianists employ such theatrics for drama, but here it arose from Ning’s deep connection with the instrument and a very obvious love of Chopin (check out his F Minor Ballade).

Natasha Lipkina

Natasha Lipkina is one of the most accomplished musicians that I have had the pleasure of meeting. She and Ning delivered an enjoyable off-program partnership of violin and piano. This included a Telemann Fantasia and Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No.4 Op. 23. If their collaboration was unscheduled, that was not evident. They played as one from the sheet music, professionals to the core.

Margrit Zimmerman

When  Margrit Zimmerman joined us, Ms. Lipkina came into her own. Where Ning and Natasha together were at times a dueling duet, Margrit was restrained, slipping from foreground to background as called for. This sacrifice of self to the partnership is what we ask of the collaborative pianist, and it allowed Ms. Lipkina’s viola to shine.

Schubertiana

And shine it did! In Schubert’s all too short Litany for All Souls Day (arr. William Primrose), Natasha’s rendition was poignant but clean enough to avoid sentimentality. In his Arpeggione Sonata in A Minor D. 821, she showed her mastery of Viennese drawing-room lyricism. At the same time, she had a Haendel-like precision that made Schubert’s outbursts of dance crisply humorous and delightful. This was a musician at the peak of her art.

Contrasts

When I experience a performance such as that of Ms. Lipkina, I am profoundly stirred. But it would be unfair to single her out because each of these musicians brought their own unique flavor to the evening, such that the whole was greater than the sum of the contrasting parts.

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.