Chaconne Archives - ROVING PIANIST

Viola and Piano Duo Matthew and Zhenni Li Cohen

Sunday, April 24th, 2022 by Ken Turner

Matthew Cohen and Zhenni Li-Cohen

It has been several years since I saw pianist Zhenni Li perform. Back then she partnered with violist Matthew Cohen. In New York on April 23rd 2022 she did so again, this time as Zhenni Li-Cohen.

The evening’s concert was a hybrid. In the first half the duo played together, with Ms. Li-Cohen providing piano support for Mr. Cohen’s viola. In the second half, Ms. Li-Cohen went solo.

Viola and Piano

The viola repertoire by Clarke, Tchaikovsky and Brahms encompassed the latter decades of the Romantic period. Played in reverse chronological order, we went from the early 20th century to the heart of the 19th.

I found myself mesmerized by these works. There was a period feel that transcended differences between the composers. At times it felt as if one composer could have written them all.

Was this simply a well-chosen late romantic program, or a perfect musical collaboration? Perhaps it was the grace of Mr. Cohen’s viola, or the distinctive color of the accompaniment? However you explain it, the whole felt larger than the sum of the parts.

Matthew Cohen in action

Rebecca Clarke: Morpheus

Rebecca Clarke was an English composer. Morpheus opens with a distinctly English viola melody over a subdued accompaniment laced with soft glissandos. Think of Ralph Vaughan Williams with an impressionist overlay.

Mr. Cohen’s ethereal execution was ably supported by Zhenni’s atypically low-key accompaniment. My thanks to these musicians for introducing us to this delightful gem.

Tchaikovsky: paraphrase on Eugene Onegin

In musical terms, a paraphrase falls somewhere between an arrangement and a rework. What we heard was not what Tchaikovsky wrote, and yet it was Tchaikovsky. I am uncertain who arranged it.

Brahms: Sonata No. 1 in E minor for cello and piano

Arranged for viola and piano by Mr. Cohen, this was a pleasant and mellow experience. For me, it was overshadowed by the previous works. Programmatically, it was a well-chosen lead-in to the Bach/Busoni that followed.

Piano Solo

In the first half of this concert, Ms. Li-Cohen’s role was that of a supporting pianist. In the second half, freed of the confines of collaboration, we experienced her at her most vivid. I will focus primarily on her Bach/Busoni, the peak of the evening.

Zhenni Li-Cohen getting into it

Bach/Busoni Chaconne in D minor

Ferruccio Busoni‘s arrangement of Bach’s violin partita is a colossal masterwork. I personally prefer more restrained interpretations to those that are overtly virtuoso. And indeed, Zhenni’s opening was well-paced and satisfyingly stately.

Later there were a couple of glitches, but she fought through and stayed in command. Toward the finish some fast passages were hurried, arguably appropriate to such a passionate delivery.

Overall I greatly enjoyed Ms. Li-Cohen’s performance, which I perceived to have an unusually romantic spin. Partly this was because she used a lot of pedal. But later when reviewing the audio, I found that my perception had also been colored by the pianist’s highly expressive body language.

One rarely sees this arrangement played with so much visual bravura. Look at the example in my photograph of Zhenni at the piano. At first this seemed sacrilegious. I mean this was BACH, so why was the pianist throwing herself around like a rag doll? But in fact the best pianists use every tool at their disposal, and that’s exactly what she was doing.

Host Robin with the performers

Debussy: Preludes 1-5, Book 1

These Debussy preludes felt like a Monet painting. I loved how Ms. Li-Cohen managed the balance between low and high registers to create depth and serenity. Of everything Zhenni played for us, this was her most impressive accomplishment.

Stravinsky/Agosti: Danse Infernal du roi Kastchei (Firebird)

Informatively introduced by Ms. Li-Cohen, this was a short and entertaining conclusion. After Debussy, it felt like a pre-programmed encore.

Closing thoughts

Zhenni and Matthew overcame similar challenges from their sheet music “tech”. I was impressed to see Zhenni’s left hand keep playing while her right swiped repeatedly at a recalcitrant page on her tablet. And I was impressed to see Matthew kick his malfunctioning bluetooth pedal away and play perfectly without it.

From their well-designed program to their resilience under pressure, the Cohen viola and piano duo gave us a wonderful evening. We were privileged to spend time with these truly professional musicians.

Carnegie 2018: Take It or Levit

Saturday, October 20th, 2018 by Ken Turner

Igor Levit, Carnegie Zankel October 2018

Igor Levit at Carnegie Zankel October 2018

Igor Levit’s 2017 Carnegie recital was described by one reviewer as “a peak pianistic experience of my concertgoing life”.

I signed up for Levit’s 2018 Carnegie recital hoping for just such an experience.

However for me the repertoire of the October 19th recital alone was sufficient reason to subscribe.

And so, after gorgeing ourselves at the Brooklyn Diner on West 57th Street, my dear wife and I entered Carnegie Zankel stuffed with great food and full of expectations.

Bach: Chaconne in D Minor (left hand, arr. Brahms)

I have attended strong two-handed performances of Bach’s D Minor Chaconne (arr. Busoni) by Han Chen and Virna Kljakovic. However Igor Levit was my first live experience of Brahms’ left hand arrangement. I had great hopes for it, because the underlying Partita is superlative.

Bach Partita #2’s Chaconne soars to spiritual heights and sinks to the edge of despair (over the death of Bach’s wife, some say).

But when compared with the edgy clarity of Hilary Hahn’s violin or the harmonic density of Busoni’s two-handed arrangement, Levit’s Chaconne felt as cold as the stone of a cathedral. Somewhere between Brahms and this pianist, the flame went out.

Busoni: Fantasia after J.S. Bach, BV 253

As per Busoni, Fantasia opens serioso, sostenuto e sempre sottovoce. In Levit’s hands, these directions were faithfully executed.

From my front row right seat, I had a great view of Levit’s sostenuto. I was able to see how he worked the pedals to create ethereal tones in higher registers. He used much partial pedal to thread the hazardous path between too little resonance and too much.

I could literally see the resulting harmonics hanging in the air. They looked like a church organ, with harp-like strings in place of pipes.

Mr. Levit’s performance of this work was the high point of his recital, and utterly mesmerizing. You can hear him play this for yourself at Igor Levit plays Busoni Fantasia nach J.S. Bach – live 2015.

Schumann: Variations in E-flat Major on an Original Theme

This serene but unremarkable work left your reviewer unmoved. This was not through any fault of Mr. Levit. Schumann never has done much for me. Perhaps you, dear reader, will get more out of Igor Levit’s Variations in E-Flat Major on an Original Theme “Ghost Variations”, WoO 24 than I did.

Wagner: Solemn March to the Holy Grail from Parsifal (arr. Liszt)

The Solemn March opens with a descending bass motif that sounds like huge bells tolling over a stately procession. The bells continue throughout the work, giving it a gravitas that fitted the rest of the recital program. Although there are more dramatic performances, I personally appreciated Mr. Levit’s understated interpretation.

Liszt: Fantasia and Fugue on Ad nos, ad salutarem undam (arr. Busoni)

Liszt is the kind of composer you either love or you hate. My wife and I are at opposite ends of this spectrum, but I have to agree that this brash, showy work does not inspire me the way even the Parsifal arrangement did.

In my opinion Mr. Levit could profitably have dropped this work from his program, buying him time for a couple of encores that would have greatly endeared him to his neglected Carnegie audience.

Frederic Rzewski “A Mensch” from Dreams, Part I [encore]

Mr. Levit announced that he would play only one encore. Disappointing as this was, it is hard to imagine following a program of such gravity with any kind of casual crowd-pleaser.

Indeed, A Mensch was no crowd-pleaser. Your unfortunate reviewer neither liked nor understood this awkward, atonal work. For future performances, it would help if Mr. Levit would grace his audience with a brief musical introduction.

What was the point of the pianist rapping the piano with his fingers, or the closing moment when he slid his foot off the damper pedal so that it sprang up with a loud CLACK?

Igor Levit: one of a kind

When Mr. Levit was ready to start Busoni’s Fantasia, a latecomer was being seated. Whatever he may have felt, Levit flashed a good-natured smirk at the audience. It was a reassuring moment, and one of many indications that although Igor Levit is a different kind of pianist, he is still human.

There were cases where Mr. Levit’s individuality was less impressive. At the end of Busoni’s Fantasia, and again at the end of Liszt/Wagner’s Solemn March to the Holy Grail, the audience waited politely for the pianist to sit up and indicate that he was finished. Instead, Levit started the next part of his recital. These were awkward moments, verging on rude.

There were other moments that I could cite to illustrate Mr. Levit’s uniqueness, but I will trade them all for the answer to one question. When you were sight-reading from your iPad, Mr. Levit, I did not see a page-turner pedal. So how did you turn the page?

Pianist Han Chen at Central Park West

Monday, May 22nd, 2017 by Ken Turner

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.