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Kissin at Carnegie, November 2015

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Evgeny Kissin at NYC Carnegie Hall

Evgeny Kissin after playing Beethoven at Carnegie Hall, November 3rd, 2015

I saw Evgeny Kissin perform on November 3rd, 2015 at Carnegie Hall, with my daughter Annie. We had fabulous seats over stage right. Could not see the keyboard, but that didn’t matter.  I was not there to learn anything, I was there to enjoy and to remind myself just how far I still have to go as a pianist.

A few weeks before this event, I had attended a Lang Lang recital at Carnegie. I was surprised that my pianist friends were not so thrilled about Lang Lang. The message I got was yeah, sure, Lang Lang is good but he’s not Kissin. Since I thought Lang Lang was awesome, my expectations on this night were extremely high.

The Stern Auditorium was packed. There were even seats on stage for about 100 people. Kissin did not keep us waiting like Lang Lang, and his shoes did not call out for attention. This was a performer who had no need to sell himself. He bowed both to the audience in the main hall, and to the lucky souls behind the piano who had wangled a seat on stage. Somehow, I felt that I was in the presence of greatness.

Warm-up candy: Mozart

The recital opened with Mozart’s Sonata in C Major.  This was pleasant and precisely articulated, but not the kind of music I would go out of my way to listen to. For Mr. Kissin, it was good warm-up candy before going for the big stuff.

Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata

Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata came next.  In comparison with Mozart’s little kitty-cat, Beethoven was a tiger that allowed Kissin’s mastery to shine. With his shaggy hair, you could have imagined that he was Beethoven himself. I can’t describe for you the power that Kissin has, and what it was like to listen to him play this monster of a sonata, but it left me stunned. I don’t know who I admire more, good old Ludwig or this fabulous Russian pianist.

Kissin’s Brahms Intermezzo #1 – MEH!

After the intermission, Kissin played 3 Brahms Intermezzos. I am particularly fond of #1, but I was disturbed at what felt like excessive rubato in his rendition.   I suppose that the greatest pianist in the world is entitled to play it his own way, but my “gold standard” is the one at this link: J. Brahms, Intermezzo op. 117. no. 1, Virna Kljakovic.

The rest of the evening was mostly Spanish (Albeniz, Larregla) music, which at any other event would have been captivating, but for me the concert really ended after Beethoven’s Appassionata, since I felt let down by the Brahms. Not even the strong delivery of Larregla’s Viva Navarra could offset the feeling that Mr. Kissin, world’s greatest pianist, didn’t “get” the Brahm’s Intermezzo. I imagine that he would disagree, but unfortunately I didn’t get to chat with him afterwards.

The bow says everything

When Mr. Kissin took his bows on this November night at Carnegie, he came forward and stood, head tilted back for a few seconds, radiant and gracious in our applause, before bowing.  It was as if he were transformed by music, and we with him.

 

 

 

Lang Lang at Carnegie, October 2015

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Lang Lang at Carnegie Hall 2015

Lang Lang

I saw Lang Lang 3 days ago at Carnegie Hall on Friday October 23rd, 2015. It was a memorable evening, so I wanted to share the experience here.

The concert was scheduled for 8:30 pm, but Lang Lang did not come on stage until 10 minutes later. When he walked out, I was struck by how thin he was. Not unhealthy, just fit and stylish.

His shoes were pointed and shiny, maybe patent leather. His pants were the style of today’s young men, narrow-legged, slim around the ankles.  They reminded me of what we used to call “drainpipes” in the 1960’s. My school banned them because they reflected the evils of rock-and-roll.

Tchaikovsky “The Seasons”

Lang Lang’s performance was superlative from the beginning. Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, which was new to me, was rendered beautifully. The Russian dances that pop up during this piece (e.g. February) were a little muddy, but that’s the composer’s fault. As to June, I recognized and loved it instantly. Under Lang Lang’s hands it was a cross between Chopin and Brahms. You can find it at around 18:30 in this video.  [wpdevart_youtube]7ABGZhFsXYI[/wpdevart_youtube]

Johann Sebastian Bach Italian Concerto, BWV 971

I am not going to comment on this delectable piece.  Lang Lang played it beautifully, there is not much else to say.

Chopin Scherzo’s

The Chopin Scherzo’s came after the Intermission and were the highlight of the evening. Lang Lang’s playing can only be described as bravura. This man can attack the piano and get away with it, because he is technically impeccable. I have never enjoyed Scherzo #2 as much as I did at this recital. The following video of him playing this Scherzo is comparable to what he did for us , but at Carnegie his performance was sharper and cleaner, going beyond anyone I have seen play live.

[wpdevart_youtube]_ImETzD5g9Y[/wpdevart_youtube]

Encore: Ponce “Intermezzo”

Lang Lang’s first encore, the Ponce Intermezzo, was adorable. I have to add this to my repertoire!  If you don’t know it, try this YouTube rendition by Glenda Courtois. [wpdevart_youtube]ChEglRpytgc[/wpdevart_youtube]

Lang Lang the Showman

What else do I remember? Lang Lang’s signature sharp head movements, his face turned up and towards the audience, his skinny legs splayed wide, those elvish pointy shoes. He pedalled soft and sostenuto at the same time during the Tchaikovsky. In the Chopin scherzo’s, he was speed-pedaling as if am spinnrade.

I just had to love Lang Lang’s unique (as far as I know) way of whipping his right hand back and down from the keyboard, as if he were kneepcapping a man standing behind him. And good grief, how he hammered out those big Chopin scherzo’s! Lang Lang is a slight man, so I understand how the larger  Franz Liszt would break a piano while performing.

Lang Lang loves his audience. He embraced us collectively with warm gestures before sitting down at the piano. When he took his bows at the end of each segment, and at the end of each Chopin scherzo, he put one leg (with its pointy shoe) forward and bowed deep from the waist. His hand went over his heart again and again. He raised his arms to us at the left, the center, and the right. I felt such rapport with this masterful pianist, because he knew what he was uniquely able to give us, and he knew that we loved every minute.

 

My music is better than your music

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Renaissance Live at Carnegie Hall

I remember when I was a young man, driving around with my car window open and loud music blaring. I wanted everyone to hear this music because I thought they would be awestruck. I did not have massive subwoofers, I was not a “notice me” guy. I just had music to share.

For example the bass solo 10 minutes into the Ashes are Burning track of Renaissance’s Live at Carnegie Hall is perhaps the world’s most magnificent bass guitar cadenza. You won’t find this on any studio album, it was a one-time live performance and this is the only recording. (Don’t play it on tinny speakers, at least use some decent headphones!)

These days I would not dream of pushing my music on others in this fashion. But plenty of people love that feeling of the windows down and the music up so loud that your car itself seems silent. It feels like you are floating down the highway on a cushion of joy.

During the extremes of winter there were a few twisted souls who would drive with their windows open, at great personal discomfort, simply to impose their noise music on the rest of us, but most of the Boom Boom Bullies settled for blowing their own own eardrums out behind rolled-up windows.

Now spring is here, car windows are rolled down, and once again an uncivil minority will decide for the rest of us whether we must listen to their music when we are stuck in traffic with them.

I understand why you may love your music so much you want to share it, but I don’t understand amping your bass with subwoofers so that I can hear the thumping two blocks away.  What we hear is not music, it’s more like a steam hammer in a shipyard.  You put $$$$ on your credit card for THAT?

There’s a spectrum of wilful noise pollution that ranges from the benign but insensitive “I thought everyone loved this song” to the arrogance of “I don’t care that you can’t hear your music because of my music” to the sonic violence of “my subwoofer up your ASS”.

It’s a sad reflection on your life when the best you can think to do with your irreplaceable allotment of time on this pale blue dot is to force others to listen to your crap.