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You are here: Home / Archives for Stravinsky

Viola and Piano Duo Matthew and Zhenni Li Cohen

Sunday, April 24th, 2022 by Ken Leave a Comment

Matthew and Zhenni 4/23/2022

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 NYC 4-23-2022

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 4/23/2022

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.

Robin, Matthew and Zhenni 4-23-2022

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.

 

Filed Under: Concerts, Private Concerts Tagged With: Bach-Busoni, Chaconne, Debussy, Matthew Cohen, Morpheus, piano, Rebecca Clarke, Robin Shoemaker, Stravinsky, viola, Zhenni Li, ZHenni Li-Cohen

Denis Matsuev Overwhelms Carnegie

Wednesday, October 23rd, 2019 by Ken Leave a Comment

Denis Matsuev

Denis Matsuev strode on to the Carnegie stage on Sunday October 20th, 2019.

Well over 6 feet tall, he looked powerful and solid, the proverbial Russian bear.

Outside Carnegie, a group of protesters chanted in Russian that Matsuev supports war. But surely there are more effective ways to critique Russian foreign policy than harassing a world-class pianist!

Liszt: Piano Sonata in B minor

Liszt’s Sonata opens with a deep pulse in the Steinway’s chocolately low end. Matsuev paced this perfectly. Then it explodes into drama and episodic wandering, interspersed with archetypally Liszt-ian hammering climaxes.

This is a self-consciously great work. It is difficult for the pianist to imbue it with gravitas, because the work is patchy and wanders a lot. In Matsuev’s hands it felt harmonically muddy and sometimes rushed. For comparison, here is a recording of Marta Argerich.

The Roving Pianist Concert Clown award goes to the man who stood and started clapping before the last notes died away.

Liszt: Mephisto Waltz No. 1 S. 514

The Mephisto Waltz gives the pianist more to work with. It is an adventurous, lively work and Matsuev was wholly on top of it, sometimes to excess. Again there was some rushing. To be fair, the audience wanted a virtuoso performance and Matsuev obliged. At times the piano shook visibly from his raw power. This was the Matsuev machine we had come to see, a massive performance that brought the audience to its feet.

Tchaikovsky: Dumka in C minor Op. 59

Denis Matsuev at Carnegie Oct. 2019

Denis Matsuev with flowers Carnegie 2019

Tchaikovsky’s symphonies and concertos are the core of this cinematic Russian composer’s public image. Piano-lovers are familiar with his The Seasons. The Dumka is less well-known. It combines oh-so-Russian descending minor progressions with a dance that alternately sounds like fairies and trolls. Alas the dancers are unable to rise above the beautiful gloom.

From a pianist famed for how much noise he can get out of a piano, Matsuev’s Dumka was an unexpected treasure.

Stravinsky: Three Movements from Petrushka

Here again was a percussive showpiece for Matsuev to strut his stuff. I’ve heard many pianists play Stravinsky, and Matsuev’s rendition was one of the more impressive. But my response was muted because by then my appetite for hammering was overshadowed by the need to hear something more fulfilling.

Encores

Like Yuja Wang at Carnegie in 2016, Denis Matsuev really came alive with his encores.

As I have mentioned to other concert pianists, the audience may not recognize your encores. Even just naming the composer will help us figure it out. But Matsuev did not talk to us, and I recognized only two of his four encores. Later I identified the Sibelius by browsing recordings of Matsuev. Of the remaining unidentified encore, I can only say that it was light and possibly Russian.

Rachmaninov Études-Tableaux Op. 39 No. 2 in A minor

Rachmaninov was, for this reviewer, the highlight of Matsuev’s recital. It was lighter in the left hand than I prefer, but still had that heart-bursting cacophonous climax that I first heard played by the young Russian pianist Ivan Gusev.

Sibelius Etude No. 2 from Thirteen Pieces, Op. 76

I did not recognize this encore, but I could tell it was Russian. Wrong! Although it could pass for a Russian sailors’ hornpipe, it turned out to have been Sibelius. Not so far off geographically, I suppose.

Grieg-Ginzburg In the Hall of the Mountain King

Matsuev’s last encore was the Ginzburg arrangement of In the Hall of the Mountain King from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1. Matsuev sauced it up by playing the declamatory first note and extending the subsequent pause while chuckling with the audience. There followed an unashamedly hammered, ridiculously over-speed performance that was breathtaking to watch.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this concert, but I wish that Denis Matsuev had chosen a more integrated Liszt work, e.g. Harmonies du Soir. Compared with Rachmaninov’s Études-Tableaux, Liszt’s B minor Sonata seemed like a waste of Matsuev’s talent. If his audience wants him to hammer the piano, Rachmaninov offers plenty options.

Filed Under: Concerts, Public concerts Tagged With: Carnegie Hall, Denis Matsuev, Dumka, Edvard Grieg, Etudes Tableaux, harmonies du soir, Liszt, Mephisto Waltz, Petrushka, Putin, Rachmaninov, Russian Bear, Sibelius, steinway, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Vladimir Putin

Beatrice Rana Debuts at Carnegie

Wednesday, March 13th, 2019 by Ken Leave a Comment

Beatrice Rana Carnegie Debut March 2019

Pianist Beatrice Rana at her Carnegie Debut March 2019

Beatrice Rana

On Tuesday March 12th 2019, Italian pianist Beatrice Rana made her Carnegie debut at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.

A 2013 Van Cliburn competition silver medalist (see this photograph) Beatrice at age 25 has been performing in major concert halls around the world for years.

Zankel is a modest venue of about 600 seats, hardly intimidating to an experienced international pianist. But the New York audience is notoriously demanding.

Ms. Rana came on stage in an elegant, floor-length sequined copper gown. If she was nervous, the only hint might have been how quickly she got down to business.

Chopin: Twelve Etudes Op. 25

Beatrice Rana on stage at her Carnegie debut

I love New York!

The drape of the copper gown presaged the flowing arpeggios and modulations of the first Etude (“Aeolian Harp”, A-flat Major). Ms. Rana’s damper work allowed the harp-like sonorities of this etude to glow.

Throughout the Etudes, Beatrice Rana focused intently on the keyboard. She employed no visual theatrics, going little further than the occasional lift of her right eyebrow. Her left hand came nicely forward when voicing called for it. I personally liked her well-managed pedal, however some people would have preferred different handling of harmonics in certain Etudes.

Ms. Rana sailed through technical challenges such as the Op. 26 No. 6 (“Thirds”, G-sharp minor) and particularly Op. 26 No 11 (“Winter Wind”, A minor), where she showed her virtuosity and prodigious power.

The final Etude Op. 26 no 12 (“Ocean”, C-sharp minor) was masterfully executed. During this aptly-labeled Etude Ms. Rana rocked from side to side, following her hands. Swaying is intrinsic to this work, but her dinghy-like rock-and-roll was so pronounced that I wondered if it was intended as a metaphor for Chopin’s waves.

Ravel: Miroirs

Miroirs is an evocative 5-section suite for solo piano, a well-chosen programmatic bridge between Chopin and Stravinsky.

After Ms. Rana’s sublime pedalwork for Chopin, I looked forward to hearing her project the sonorities of Ravel. But although her delivery was fine, I was not entirely satisfied. I can’t point to anything specific, but it felt a little choppy.

Of course, it may be that the disconnect is on the reviewer’s side.

Stravinsky: Three Movements from The Firebird

This exciting piano transcription by Agosti of 3 sections from Stravinsky’s Firebird suite is a concert favorite. Beatrice Rana gave a spirited rendering. No harmonic muddying here! I loved her marcatissimo closing.

Encores

After the main program, Beatrice treated us to two encores by Chopin: Prelude in F# minor Opus 28 and Scherzo #18 in B flat minor. She has an obvious flair for Chopin, so it made for a fun ending to a great evening.

Pianist Beatrice Rana at Carnegie after her debut with Ken Turner

Beatrice Rana at Carnegie with author Ken Turner

Meeting Beatrice

After the recital we went to the Carnegie “Mix and Mingle” event.

To our delight Beatrice (pronounced Bay-ah-tree-cheh) Rana herself came out to join us, friendly and accommodating to her fans.

Of all the questions I had for Ms. Rana, there was time for just one. So I asked her how it felt to walk out on stage at Carnegie for the first time. “Exciting”, she gleamed.

For more about Beatrice Rana, see her web site at www.beatricepiano.com.

Filed Under: Concerts, Public concerts Tagged With: Beatrice Rana, Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Zankel, Chopin, Debut, pianist, piano, Ravel, Stravinsky

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