Public concerts Archives - ROVING PIANIST

Mateusz Mikolajczak at Kosciuszko Foundation NYC

Saturday, March 29th, 2025 by Ken Turner

Mateusz Mikolajczak at Kosciuszko Foundation

On March 26, 2025, the Kosciuszko Foundation presented a piano recital by Polish pianist Mateusz Mikolajczak. The event was held in the concert hall at their headquarters a block from Central Park.

The concert hall was itself a work of art, its wood-paneled walls covered with fine paintings.

The Steinway grand piano looked like a well-used music academy instrument, but sounded great.

Chopin: Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1

I loved Mr. Mikolajczak’s performance of this, one of my favorite Chopin’s Nocturnes. I caught myself thinking here I am, listening to an accomplished Polish pianist play this riveting work written 189 years ago. Maybe it’s time I made a pilgrimage to Poland.

Liszt: Sonetto 104 del Petrarca from Années de Pèlerinage

I had mixed feelings about Mikolajczak’s Liszt. While the pianist swayed back and forth with the phrasing and made artful gestures with arm and hand, the piano did not convey such emotional weight. I speculate that perhaps body language was at the expense of pianistic expression. Readers might compare Yunchan Lim’s performance.

Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61

The Polonaise-Fantaisie can feel a bit rambling. However Mikolajczak’s delivery gave me a new respect for the piece. I became fascinated by how Chopin’s themes and motifs would leave and later return with renewed magic.

Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.23 “Appassionata” Op. 57

Tantalizing fragments of Beethoven echoed down the stairwell while Mikolajczak was rehearsing.

But nothing could prepare me for sitting in the front row while he performed Beethoven’s Appassionata. He was compelling.

So much vigor and drama, such crisp, virtuosic delivery! We loved it, giving the pianist a standing ovation.

Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat major, Op. 84

I am amazed that anyone can play this elaborate work from memory. But Mateusz Mikolajczak seemed to thrive on Prokofiev’s unusual tonalities and relentless, driving rhythms. However I noticed toward the end of the last movement that the tips of the pianist’s fingers had become dark pink.

My favorite moments in this work were the tantalizingly evanescent “ocean swell” phrases, when Mikolajczak made us feel like we were on a ship in heaving seas, the pianist rising from his bench to stay in control.

Closing Thoughts

The pianist’s profile and curly hair made me think of European aristocrats from a bygone age. His interactions with his audience were correspondingly gracious, but brief.

Much of the time at the piano, his hair fell over his face. I wanted to know more about who this fascinating pianist was, but he was immersed in his art so that would have to come later.

Mateusz Mikolajczak is a classy performer with immense concentration, impressive technique and a flair for drama. I would be interested to hear his interpretations of Bach/Busoni or Bach/Liszt.

The Kosciuszko Foundation

The Rotunda at KF

The membership-supported Foundation promotes educational and cultural exchanges between the United States and Poland. Their premises at 15 East 65th Street provided the perfect venue for this recital.

The Foundation, its people, and the good work that they do thoroughly impress me.

Special thanks to Ewa Zadworna for facilitating my attendance and discreet use of a camera.

Han Chen at Scandinavia House NYC 2025

Saturday, March 1st, 2025 by Ken Turner

Han Chen 2/28/2025

On Friday February 28th, 2025, I attended a recital by Han Chen at Scandinavia House in New York.

Piano on Park presented this event. Its founder Cyrus von Hochstetter introduced Mr. Chen. He noted Han’s efforts to promote new music and work with today’s composers, one of whom was included in the evening’s fantasy-oriented program.

Chopin: Fantaisie Impromptu Op. 66

Han Chen gave a luminous, flowing performance. The central melody had a Schubertian edge and delectably evocative rubato. I was surprised at how fresh this favorite sounded under Han’s hands.

Florence Price: Fantasie Nègre in E minor

Price’s mournful post-Romantic work was new to me, and played robustly by Han Chen. I enjoyed its folksy melody and bluesy harmonies, and loved when Han’s rolling left hand overpowered the theme as the work drew toward its close.

Schumann: Fantasiestücke Op.12

The opening Des Abends (In the Evening) sets the tone for this hefty work. My go-to recording of Des Abends is by Jeeyoon Kim, so when Han Chen opened at a radically slower tempo I was surprised. Yet over the next minutes I came to enjoy the way this allowed the harmonics of this lovely work to shine. However I felt that it was a little halting, and needed a tad more oomph.

Lei Liang: Book of Time 1 (world premiere)

Han Chen speaking at Scandinavia House

Mr. Chen commissioned this work with the support of a group of sponsors. Before playing it, Han Chen addressed the audience.

Lei Liang, he said, worked with scientists to analyze sound waves from 188 minerals and transcribe them into piano harmonies. This sounded fascinating. I mean, it sounded as if it would sound fascinating. I think of the connection to nature, and the vibrations that abound in the universe.

Musically, I did not understand what I heard. A structure would form, and be lost. A progression would intrigue, and sometimes repeat. I sensed phrasing and hints of tonality. The entire work felt like patches of spacious randomness scattered across a sparkling night sky.

This work was intellectually interesting, but I wouldn’t listen to it while having my morning coffee or driving my car. I would have asked Han about it afterwards, but I had a New Jersey bus to catch.

Scriabin: Fantasy in B minor Op. 28

I find Scriabin pleasant enough, but I am not driven to listen to him the way I am to, say, Rachmaninoff. Scriabin’s Fantasy in B minor Op. 28 is a gripping, complex, technically demanding work. But Han Chen has great talent with romantic repertoire, and he brought this dense Fantasy to life. I don’t think I have ever enjoyed Scriabin so much!

Rachmaninoff Encore!

The evening’s well-designed program wrapped the novel contemporary work of Lei Liang in warm, Romantic-era repertoire. As if Scriabin were not enough to ground us after Lei Liang, Han Chen closed with a stirring encore of Rachmaninoff’s Moments Musicaux No. 4 in E minor.

I’ve heard Han Chen play this before. He has a unique way of holding the tempo back for moments, causing this tempestuous, roiling favorite to hang like a breaking wave. Judging by the applause, the rest of the audience loved it as much as I did.

You can find Mr. Chen’s event schedule on his website here.

Kissin Conquers Carnegie Hall May 2023

Thursday, May 4th, 2023 by Ken Turner

Evgeny Kissin, Carnegie Hall, May 2023

I’ve always liked pianist Evgeny Kissin, but sometimes I feel ambivalent about his interpretations. See my reviews of his Carnegie Hall appearances in May 2018 and November 2015 for more on this.

But Kissin’s May 2nd, 2023 Carnegie Hall piano recital was a “must see” for Roving Pianist (RP), because of its program. Many others must have felt the same: Carnegie’s main auditorium was packed to the back of the balcony and there were also audience seated on stage.

Bach: Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903

I first heard Bach’s sublime Chromatic Fantasia at Lisa Yui‘s inspiring Juilliard evening class Keyboard Literature in Concert Baroque & Classical. I couldn’t wait to hear what Mr. Kissin would make of this delightful work.

Kissin was impeccably tailored and bowed long, with dignity befitting a great man. His Bach was also perfectly presented, punctuated by emphatic head-nodding and underpinned by intense concentration.

The fugue’s simple ascending theme transported us in a DNA-like three-dimensional musical helix, closing with a short cadence. My companion had one word for Kissin’s fugue: “perfect”.

Everyone wants a selfie with RP

Mozart: Sonata in D Major, K. 311

From the chirpy opening, through the generally lyrical slow movement and into the dancing close, Kissin’s Mozart was light and benign. Sandwiched between Bach and Chopin, it was in place chronologically. However, it felt out of place emotionally.

Chopin: Polonaise in F-sharp Minor, Op. 44

In contrast, Kissin’s F sharp minor Polonaise Op. 44 was dark and stunning. His two-handed keyboard runs were so fierce and flawless that they felt like an oceanic roar. It was a breathtaking display of Kissin at his most magnificent.

Rachmaninoff: Selected Piano Pieces

Rachmaninoff occupied the entire second half of the recital. The scheduled works included Lilacs, a couple of Preludes, and five Études-Tableaux from Opus 39. Kissin’s Études-Tableaux were satisfyingly Russian, played with appropriate force and angst. I would highlight two of them.

I love Étude-Tableau Op. 39 No. 2 in A Minor, but Kissin’s was missing something. Those pedal-like bass notes were just too pale. What was he thinking? Let us hear those low A’s, Evgeny! I have to stay with Denis Matsuev for this one.

Étude-Tableau Op. 39 No. 9 in D major was probably the best of the scheduled Rachmaninov. This driven work had it all, from cinematic sweeps, twinkling ascending thirds, dramatic modulations, cacophonous clatter and stomping boots! We wanted Russian pianism, we got it, we applauded deliriously.

Kissin announces an encore, Carnegie 2023

Rachmaninoff: Prelude in C-sharp Minor Op. 3 No. 2

For encores, Kissin went all-Rachmaninoff. We cheered him on in the afterglow of his Études-Tableaux. But in truth the first two encores were small cheese.

Not so the last encore! As Kissin played the opening chords of the emblematic Prelude Op. 3 No. 2 n C-sharp Minor, we drowned him in our delight and clapped like crazy folk. We cheered for 19-yr-old Sergei Rachmaninoff who wrote it. We cheered for Evgeny Kissin in his prime. And we cheered because we knew from this choice that it was the last thing Kissin would play that evening.

Everyone loves this Prelude, pretty much. Sometimes we turn our noses up at it because it is so popular, or so melodramatic, or whatever. But under Kissin’s hands on May 2nd, 2023, it was remarkable. Mr. Kissin restrained his closing pace to the edge, and it worked. It was the most satisfying performance of this work that I have ever heard.

I have no audio from this concert, but I did find Kissin playing this encore in a March 2023 video.

RP waiting for Kissin

Final Thoughts

Notwithstanding Rachmaninoff’s Opus 39 No. 2, Roving Pianist nominates Evgeny Kissin as World’s Greatest Living Pianist. His Bach was exquisite, his Chopin Polonaise a revelation, and his Rachmaninoff Op. 3 No. 2 was everything we wanted it to be.