Virna Kljakovic Archives - ROVING PIANIST

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?

Virna Kljakovic at Lisinksi Hall, Zagreb 2017

On March 20th, 2017, pianist Virna Kljakovic gave a recital at Lisinski Concert Hall (Lisinski Concertna Dvorana) in Zagreb as part of the Mladi u Lisinskom (Youth at Lisinski) program.

Lisinski was just a 5 minute walk from my hotel along Zagreb’s wide urban corridor Ulica Grada Vukovara. This was the fourth and last performance by young Croatian pianists that I would see on this trip.

Virna Kljakovic

I first saw pianist Virna Kljakovic (bio here) perform on YouTube. Her Chopin – Nocturne in F Minor, Op 55, No 1 video has over 250,000 views now. But my favorite was her Bach-Busoni Chaconne in D minor BWV 1004. When I learned that this work was the anchor for her Lisinski recital, and that she would close with Schubert’s divine B flat major Sonata, I started making plans. 4300 miles later, I was at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall.

Entrance to Mala Dvorana

Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall

Lisinski is Croatia’s national concert venue, comparable in standing to New York’s Carnegie Hall. The Mala Dvorana (Small Hall) at Lisinski is an intimate, modern performance space, somewhat larger than Carnegie Weill. The stage had a black backdrop, and the piano was a glistening black Steinway.

Bach – Busoni: Chaconne in D minor, BWV 1004

Virna Kljakovic performing at Lisinksi, Zagreb

Virna Kljakovic performing at Lisinksi Hall, March 2017

When the dark-haired Ms. Kljakovic entered wearing floor-length long-sleeved black clothing, the ambience was perfect for the somber grandeur of the D minor Chaconne.

This work is Busoni’s arrangement of the Chaconne from Bach’s 300-year-old Violin Partita No. 2 for solo violin. How do you make a piano sound like a violin? Well of course you don’t (even in an arrangement for one hand). Busoni’s dense harmonies make the piano sound more like an organ, and the arrangement is closer in spirit to Bach’s D minor Toccata and Fugue BWV 565.

Virna Kljakovic is a physically powerful pianist, well-suited to the demands of this work. Her opening progression was strong but never overweight, and her restrained pacing made the stately Chaconne ebb and flow like the tide. She seemed equally at home using her left hand like the feet of an organist, or both hands in delicate passages in the upper registers.

I struggle to explain how Ms. Kljakovic managed to paint a Chaconne that is more satisfying than, for example, Helene Grimaud‘s. Grimaud is more refined, but Kljakovic’s rapturous spirituality was compelling. Then there is Kissin. He has tremendous control, while Virna can blur more complex passages. But Kissin tinkers with tempo and over-interprets the finale, while Kljakovic closed with suitably direct and cataclysmic finality.

Franck: Prelude, Fugue and Variation in B minor, Op.18

Franck’s poignantly evocative piece was a welcome contrast to the weighty Chaconne. Ms. Kljakovic’s delivery was pleasantly lyrical, with adept pedal work that allowed Franck’s harmonics to glow continuously throughout the work.

Blagoje Bersa: Mélancolie, op. 76

Blagoje Bersa is a Croatian composer and national treasure. As played by Virna Kljakovic, Mélancolie is a 3-minute salon jewel that swells up in a cloud of harmonics and ebbs away with hints of Gershwin to a reflective close. At moments it resembled the preceding Franck variations. Pianists please take note: Mélancolie would make an excellent encore.

Schubert: Piano Sonata in B Flat Major, D. 960

This famous Sonata opens with a widely-loved melody that sends shivers through this reviewer. For the pianist, every note and nuance must be perfect in order to maintain the spell. Virna Kljakovic had the opening mastered, allowing her to be at her most expressive. I admire how she risked holding back longer at key moments, to great effect.

In the second movement (Andante Sostenuto) the pianist’s affinity for dramatic repertoire was evident. The performance was consummate Kljakovic, sonorous, reflective, and at times painfully beautiful.

The Scherzo was uneven, but the dancing bass of the Trio had clarity and punch. The closing Allegro, at times sounding like Beethoven, was delivered with engaging rubato and playful vigor. I had the distinct impression that the pianist was enjoying herself.

Authenticity

In live performances, we expect more from the pianist than can be captured as audio. From the showmanship of Lang Lang to the gravity of Kissin, top artists use every available modality.

Kljakovic’s grace at the keyboard is noted by her YouTube followers, and was evident at Lisinski. I see similar expressiveness of hand and arm in other pianists from the Zagreb Academy of Music. Somebody there is doing a very good job.

There was no bravado or artifice in Virna Kljakovic’s delivery. Every aspect of her performance was focused on authentic musical expression. When transported, she would tilt her head back and sing inaudibly. The last pianist I saw become so lost in her art was Khatia Buniatishvili, and the audience loved her for it.

Virna Kljakovic’s audience loved her too. She took three rowdy curtain calls and on the last, gave the longest bow I have ever seen from a pianist. It was an unforgettable “thank you” from a unique young artist to her supporters.

Carnegie 2018: Take It or Levit