Khatia Buniatishvili Archives

Pianist Tiffany Poon meets Fans in NYC

Sunday, August 19th, 2018 by Ken Leave a Comment

Tiffany Poon with Ken Turner in Central Park, NYC

Tiffany Poon on Social Media

Tiffany Poon is an aspiring young classical pianist whose YouTube channel has over 64,000 subscribers at the time of writing.

Tiffany is also active on Instagram as tiffanypianist.

Tiffany’s Mission

While many pianists are active on social media, few define their goals as clearly as Tiffany Poon. On her personal web site she states that her goal is “to inspire all generations, the old and the new, to appreciate classical music using social media”.

What Fans Want

In another social forum, Tiffany Poon told her supporters that she wants “to break the boundaries and take you with me inside the world of a classical pianist“.

This is exactly what fans like myself want from a pianist like Tiffany. For us she is already a star, because she has many formal performances on YouTube and she’s really good. If you heard her play, you would never guess that she is only about 20 years old.

It’s Personal

I have exchanged pleasantries with top rank pianists at CD signings. Some are generous of spirit, but at root it’s impersonal. That’s not to say that Khatia Buniatishvili or Yevgeny Kissin don’t appreciate their fans, but we must all be one big blur to them when they are on tour.

In contrast, an emerging pianist like Tiffany is actively building her fan base. Having studied music at Julliard and now at Yale. she is on track to an elite career. Social media engagement can be a competitive advantage, and she works hard on her vlogs (video blogs) to engage us.

When Ms. Poon made the gutsy decision to meet fans personally in New York, it was not to be missed. Around 25 of us made it to Central Park in the stickiest heat of August to meet her at Bethesda Fountain.

Tiffany’s Vlog

Tiffany Poon’s YouTube channel contains her vlog, filmed and edited by the pianist herself. She also does livestreams. These videos are uniquely Tiffany: well-presented, chatty, unpretentious and informative. She is a natural in front of the camera, talking to us as if we were friends sitting across from her at a coffee table.

Among my favorite vlogs is Mix – Can You Hear the Difference Between Before & After Piano Tuning? | Tiffany Vlogs #21. during which Tiffany and her viewers learn some neat stuff about piano tuning.

We have also been with Tiffany in practice rooms at Julliard, commuting to school in New York, eating out with her parents, in a supermarket, in a dining hall, and even on her one-way road trip from New York to Yale.

Meeting Tiffany

When I found Tiffany in Central Park, she looked as cool and presentable as in her vlogs, despite the humidity. She recognized me instantly (goodie points!) and chatted individually with everyone who came to meet her. We were a diverse group of all ages (but predominantly young) from all over the world, many of whom seemed quite awed to be in her presence.

Tiffany herself was uncharacteristically at a loss for words. Neither she nor any of us had thought about what we would do once we got together! There was no piano to fill gaps in conversation, no edit function to cut out awkward moments, no beer to cool us down and loosen us up. This was a real life experience that Tiffany had initiated, a bridge between performer and audience. We hung out with her until thunderclaps chased us out of Central Park.

It was almost sad that nobody at the fountain other than us knew that a leading pianist of the Post-Millenial generation was present that evening. I think again of Tiffany’s ambitious mission and how important it is in this age, when a Chopin Etude on your media device may be referred to as a “song”.

Lars Vogt at Alice Tully, New York 2017

Monday, April 10th, 2017 by Ken Leave a Comment

Alice Tully Hall for Lars Vogt April 9 2017

Waiting for Lars Vogt at Alice Tully, April 9 2017

On April 9th, 2017 I was privileged to attend Lars Vogt‘s recital of Bach’s Goldberg variations at Alice Tully Hall in New York.

I love the Aria that begins and closes the Variations, but I do not know everything in between. This was over an hour of pianistic embroidery, uniquely interpreted by each artist who plays it. I myself am partial to Andras Schiff.

Lars Vogt

Lars Vogt was a clean and disciplined performer. His feet did not touch pedal during the entire performance, leaving him squirming at times to find somewhere to put them. His crisp articulation never seemed mechanical, because of his exquisite ornamentals and an almost surreal ability to separate voices in a constantly changing weave.

Overall, this recital was quintessential, crystalline Baroque, with a distinctly masculine strength. No simpering beauty here! It was what the Alice Tully crowd wanted, because Mr. Vogt drew cheers afterwards.

New York Audience

I don’t have much to say about the perfection of Vogt’s performance, but the same can not be said of his audience. I recall the gentleman, if I dare use that term, who used his iPhone flashlight to read his program. He shone that light into the corner of my eye until I saw spots. And the lady sat next to him, who pencilled scratchily on sheet music through the entire performance. If this is the cultural elite of New York, you know what you can do with it.

My experience of Lars Vogt’s Alice Tully audience was par for the New York classical audience in general. Who among us has not been victim of an American entrepreneur who, at lights down, leaps from behind to snare a vacant seat in front of us? Or the young woman who helped herself to an empty seat next to me and illicitly recorded video of Khatia Buniatishvili while the glare from her phone distracted everyone around her?

We all want to play New York

In the country of my birth, such behavior would result in the offender being hissed into submission. Or perhaps, he would be beaten by rolled up umbrellas wielded by old ladies. In an eastern European country that I recently visited, the audiences were so respectful that I was embarrassed even to raise my camera. But New York? Ah, New York! I can’t say anything, because we all want to play New York (including your reviewer, if truth be told).

You want an encore?

When the audience called for an encore, Lars Vogt picked up the sheet music from the piano and held it up to us. I played the entire Goldberg Variations with no intermission and you want an encore? I had to agree with him. What can surpass 75 minutes of such bejeweled treasure?

Khatia Buniatishvili enchants Carnegie, 2016

Saturday, December 10th, 2016 by Ken Leave a Comment

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.

My piano is your piano

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.