Robin Shoemaker Archives - ROVING PIANIST

Pianist Yan Shen all-Chopin Recital

Saturday, August 14th, 2021 by Ken Leave a Comment

Yan Shen in New York

Yan Shen’s New York Debut

On Friday August 13th, Houston-based pianist Yan Shen made her New York debut at Robin Shoemaker’s NYC salon.

Her all-Chopin program consisted of 3 polonaises, 8 mazurkas, and a 25-minute sonata.

Chopin: Polonaise Op. 40 No. 1

At first the cultivated pomp of this polonaise seems grandiose. You can hear drums and marching armies, hence its nickname “Military Polonaise”.

But the polonaise is not really about glory. Instead, it reflects the dreams of Chopin’s Poland, a nation oppressed by opportunistic adversaries. At times Ms. Shen’s Polonaise hesitated with Shostakovich-like sarcasm, as if doubting the promise of those dreams.

Chopin: Mazurka Op. 6 No. 1-4

Yan Shen speaking

At the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition everyone has to play mazurki. Some are slight works that leave little impression. Others are more consequential, but hard to recognize by Opus Number because Chopin wrote so many.

Op. 6 No. 1, however, is innately memorable. It has a delicious swirl to it, which Ms. Shen evoked with characteristic economy. Some pianists use leaps and hand-crossing as visual flair, but Ms. Shen just took them in stride.

Ms. Shen’s Opus 6 No. 3 also stood out. With its bright, declamatory opening and cute descending bass motif it was a clean, happy performance.

Chopin: Polonaise Op. 26 No. 1

This polonaise opens with Beethoven-like drama. before evolving to slower, more melodic passages. Ms. Shen seemed very much at home with this work, which is one of Chopin’s earliest polonaises.

Chopin: Mazurka Op. 68 No. 1-4

In Mazurka Op. 68 No. 2 Yan Shen’s rubato was more pronounced, adding sway to this delightful gem. It had exquisitely executed twirls reminiscent of those in Op. 6 No. 1. We also enjoyed Op. 68 No. 3, with its stop-start feel and the Bartok-like folk dance in the middle.

Chopin: Polonaise Op. 53

Robin Shoemaker with Yan

Known as the Heroic Polonaise, this technically demanding work is a concert favorite. Unlike the Military Polonaise, here Chopin’s grandeur is unforced, and Ms. Shen hammered out an impressive performance.

There were a couple of moments where the tempo seemed to run ahead of the pianist, but it must be hard to control one’s adrenalin when playing such stirring repertoire.

Chopin: Sonata No. 2

Chopin’s 2nd Sonata is an immense work and a personal favorite of mine. Yan Shen’s interpretation was spirited and intense from start to finish. Afterwards there was a moment of awed silence before applause broke out.

Steve Ho: Kung Fu Rhapsody

As an encore Ms. Shen played Kung Fu Rhapsody by contemporary Hong Kong composer Steve Ho. It starts with a pulsing, cartoonish thread that morphs into pentatonic melody before returning to its more energetic core. I found this work entertaining, but am not familiar with the movie that inspired it.

Closing Thoughts

Chopin’s portrayal of grandeur was the anchor of this recital. Starting with the Military Polonaise, it evolved to the Heroic Polonaise, and culminated in Sonata No. 2. These works were interspersed with lighter fare, allowing the performer to pace herself and peak with her memorable rendition of Chopin’s Sonata No. 2.

Sasaki and Lyon: Unmasked and Unleashed

Friday, July 16th, 2021 by Ken Leave a Comment

Mitchell Lyon addresses the audience

Unmasked

Vaccination was required in order to attend the July 2021 Shoemaker salon reopening concert at Central Park West, New York.

Once in the Shoemaker residence, we felt liberated enough to unmask and mingle. How long we had waited for this moment, and how grateful we were to our host!

Pianist Mika Sasaki told us that this was her first unmasked recital in a very long time. She described how the lack of performance opportunities had given her time to reflect, influencing this evening’s concert.

Chopin: Sonata for Piano and Cello op. 65, Allegro Moderato

This troubled, rambling late-life work by Chopin seemed a gloomy way to resume in-person recitals. Shouldn’t we be dancing with joy? And yet, Chopin’s morose meandering seemed appropriate in the fading anguish of the pandemic.

Amy Beach Improvisation op. 148, Gavotte Fantastique op. 54

Amy Beach was born just 18 years after Chopin’s passing. The serenity of her Improvisation op. 148 felt like sunlight after a storm. It was followed by the spritely Gavotte Fantastique. Delightfully baroque at the start and more lyrical in the middle, the Gavotte closed with a reprise of the stately opening.

Unsuk Chin: Piano Etude No. 2 “Sequenzen”

Mika Sasaki plays George Walker July 2021

Mika Sasaki introduced Unsuk Chin as a pupil of Ligeti, giving us a hint of what to expect from Sequenzen. This is a technically challenging work, with a strong lower register motif and explosive extremes. Ms. Sasaki unleashed the full dynamic range of the Shoemaker Steinway, a shock after the delicacies of Amy Beach. This stunning performance was a remarkable accomplishment for Ms. Sasaki, who had only a month to bring it up to concert level.

George Walker: Sonata No. 2 for Piano

George Walker was the first African-American composer to win a Pulitzer prize for music. This short Sonata was written 40 years earlier, and was not easy for me to grasp. I was still scratching my head when it finished after just 10 minutes.

Rachmaninoff/Bach: “Preludio” from Violin Partita in E Major

If earlier parts of the recital were metaphors for the upheaval of the past 16 months, Bach’s timeless Partita was our return to normal. Ms. Sasaki played Rachmaninoff’s arrangement with nimble charm, earning rousing applause and a call of “bravo”.

George Rochberg: Ricordanza (Soliloquy) for Cello and Piano

Mitchell Lyon described this piece to us, noting some works that it quotes. Mika illustrated these on the piano, causing chuckles in the audience. Ricordanza was a more supportive showcase for Mitchell’s lyrical touch than the somewhat gloomy Chopin played earlier.

Lili and Nadia Boulanger

MItchell, Mika, host Robin

The evening closed with cello/piano duets by sisters Lili Boulanger and Nadia Boulanger, introduced by Mitchell.

First was Lili’s “Parfois, je suis triste“, a melodic arrangement based on a poem that Mitchell paraphrased as follows. Sometimes I’m sad, but then I think of you and I’m not so sad. But then I get sad again because I’m not sure if you feel the same way about me as I feel about you!

Finally, we were treated to Nadia’s Three Pieces for Piano and Cello. In the first, Mika’s piano seemed to circle Mitchell’s cello like butterflies in a Monet garden. The second was similarly dreamy. The third broke out as a frenetic dance and ended with an awkward flourish.

Closing thoughts

Mika Sasaki is a versatile pianist with a flair for modern repertoire. Paired with cellist Mitchell Lyon, the duo gave us a wonderful evening. Their eclectic program had parallels with our collective experience, right down to the “not quite finished” close of Nadia Boulanger’s 3rd work.

Pianist Suejin Jung at Central Park West

Saturday, February 15th, 2020 by Ken Leave a Comment

Suejin Jung at Central Park West 2/15/2010

Suejin Jung, 2/15/2020 at Central Park West

Suejin Jung and Gustavo Miranda-Bernales

Pianist Suejin Jung brought a guest pianist to her February 15th recital at the Shoemaker Salon at Central Park West. Chilean pianist Gustavo Miranda-Bernales and Suejin took turns at the piano, ending with a four-handed duet.

Curtis Curtis-Smith: Etude No. 9

Gustavo Miranda-Bernales opened the recital with Curtis Curtis-Smith’s Etude #9 “for the Independent Rubato of the Right Hand”. A millenial work published in the year 2000, it quickly revealed its own unique and pleasant harmonic spatter. There were also hints of jazz and new age piano.

Debussy: Feux d’Artifice

Gustavo Miranda-Bernales plays Debussy

Debussy’s Feux d’Artifice (“fireworks”) is a swirling, percussive drama. Mr. Miranda-Bernales gave a clear, jagged rendition, climaxing with a gut-punch from the bottom A of the Shoemaker Steinway, followed by a searing glissando and then fading away over a distant thunder of rolling bass.

Published in 1913, the work now appears to herald the opening salvos of the First World War.

Debussy: Étude 7 pour les degrés chromatiques

Suejin Jung played this challenging étude with ease. Musically, it felt somewhat harsh and unrewarding, but as a technical exercise it was impressive.

Debussy: Préludes, Book 1

Suejin Jung played the following well-known preludes from Book 1. I particularly appreciated the first, Les sons et les parfums. Apropos of nothing, Les sons ends with the same bottom A that I mentioned in Mr. Bernales’ Feux d’Artifice.

Franz Schubert: Fantasie in C major Op. 15 “Wanderer”

Schubert’s restless, charming Fantasie contains hints of the darker edge of his later sonatas. But even in Gustavo Miranda-Bernales’ commanding hands, it could not rise to the level of e.g. the great D 960 sonata in B flat Major.

Nevertheless, MIranda-Bernales’ compelling execution of this difficult work earned him raucus applause.

Frédéric Chopin: Sonata No. 3 in B minor

Robin Shoemaker, Gustavo Morales and Suejin Jung

Robin, Gustavo and Suejin

Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor Op. 58 is like a tray of jewels spread in front of the listener. How can one describe such glittering beauty and magical craft?

I was struck by how balanced Suejin Jung’s presentation was. Each movement and every section felt not too hot and not too cold, but just right. Her Largo was exquisitely paced and luminous, Chopin at his most sublime.

And even the galloping Presto, which opens with weighty romanticism reminiscent of Schubert, was reined back sufficiently by Suejin that it morphed from manic to majestic.

For this reviewer, Suejin Jung’s Chopin was the highlight of the evening. It was still playing in my head on the long ride home.

Encore: Fauré Le Pas Espagnol

Le Pas Espagnol is the last section of Faure’s Dolly Suite for four-hand piano. For this rousing Spanish dance, the pianists sat together with Gustavo playing the primo (upper) part. It was a delightful way to close the evening, leaving everyone with a smile on their face.