Category Archives: Russian Composers

The Elegant Icelandic Pianist and the Woman with Blurry Hands: Òlafsson and Wang Duo Pianos in Santa Barbara


Vinkingur Òlafsson
Yuja Wang

Program 
Berio:Wasserklavier
Schubert: Fantasia in F minor for Four Hands
Cage:Experiences No. 1
Nancarrow (arr. Thomas Adès): Study No. 6
John Adams:Hallelujah Junction
Arvo Pärt:Hymn to a Great City
Rachmaninoff:Symphonic Dances

From the very beginning this concert defied convention in so many ways. The Granada Theater hosted a sold out crowd for these two distinctly different rock stars. The two pianos were arranged so that the artists were sitting next to each other, Wang was seated slightly upstage and stage right while Òlafsson was stage left and a bit downstage (the conventional staging for two piano concerts has the pianists facing each other and equally center stage). Also noted was Wang using the iPad score reader whilst Òlafsson had a page turner for the hard copy paper score.

On the surface these two artists have distinctly different personas. Both are possessed of a high level of technical skill along with interpretive abilities that communicate with their audiences. But the juxtaposition of these two pianists is a pairing that had this listener wonder if they could occupy the same space. Òlafsson the contemplative man in the dapper blue suit and the introspective facade contrasted just a bit with Wang’s more extroverted showmanship. And Wang’s fashionable but characteristically flashy outfit (which was even “flashier” after intermission).

The concert began with a brief and generally lesser known piece by the great Italian composer, Luciano Berio (1925-2003), his Wasserklavier (1965). This short, contemplative work functioned as an appetizer as the duo segued directly to Franz Schubert’s (1797-1828) gorgeous Fantasy in F minor (1828). This work originally written for one piano, four hands, was played here on two pianos. The work, written in the year of Schubert’s death is of symphonic dimension. The duo played rather uptempo but delivered a very convincing performance.

After acknowledging applause they gave us a sort of brief palate cleanser, John Cage’s (1918-1997) Experiences No. 1 (1945-8), a work for two pianos. The soft and sparse texture segued to Thomas Adès arrangement of Conlon Nancarrow’s Player Piano Study No. 6 (ca. 1962). This study, one of about 50 studies, sounds gentle and bluesy but belies the actual rhythmic complexities which characterize all the studies. This team handled the complexities most deftly.

This was followed by another work of symphonic dimension, that of John Adams’ (1960- ) Hallelujah Junction (1996). It was this writer’s first hearing of the work and it was a charming and engaging post minimalist work that challenged the virtuosity of the artists and gave ample evidence of how well they performed together. The rousing ovation then took us to intermission.

(Photo by David Bazemore, all rights reserved)

The second half included Wang in a more revealing outfit more characteristic of much of the publicity photos I’ve lately seen of her. But most important is the artist’s virtuosity and interpretive power. She is a force of nature. Òlafsson is just a gentler expression that managed to link most successfully with his upstage partner on this night.

They began with Arvo Pärt’s (1955- ) Hymn to a Great City (1984-2004). This ca. 3 minute work (the city of greatness is not named) was a soft meditative work, perhaps echoing the Berio work which opened the concert.

It led without pause into Rachmaninoff’s (1873-1943) Symphonic Dances (1940) I had only been familiar with the lovely version for large orchestra (apparently written concurrently with the orchestral version) so it took a bit to grasp the intricacies that suggest that this music was written for two skilled pianists. Òlafsson and Wang traded moments to shine in this truly symphonic work but it worked very successfully with these two artists in their respective driver’s seats.

A standing ovation brought the two back to the stage where they sat next to each other for a rendition of Schubert’s bouncy Marche Militaire. A second encore two dances, by Dvorák and Brahms, eased into a calmer Brahms’ familiar Waltz in A-flat Major capped off a truly fine concert, not a union of opposites but rather a collaboration of genius.

A Stunning Recital by Pianist Bruce Liu at the Music Academy of the West


Canadian Pianist Bruce Liu (from Wikipedia)

Elon Musk’s rockets could be said to rise more slowly in contrast to this fabulous young artist’s career. His local debut occurred some 50 miles south of that Vandenburg Space X launch pad.

Born to Chinese parents in the waning years of the 20th century in Montreal, this intensely focused man was in command of the stage (and the piano) from the very beginning at the beautiful Hahn Hall of the Music Academy of the West this past May 16th. He continues the launch of one promising career.

Liu’s command of the stage is a combination of dignity, focus, and confidence in his (admirable) skill set that suggests that he can handle anything that he chooses to play. His intensity and focus (along with some challenging tempi) will likely trigger memories of fellow countryman, Glenn Gould. And, while maestro Liu’s skills are his own, he embodies the dignity of grand virtuosi of old who communicate by their artistry, connecting wordlessly but clearly and decisively with their audience.

The selection of music also defined an astute and individual curatorial choice. Yes, this 2021 winner of the Warsaw Chopin competition included Chopin on his program. But he also chose a Haydn Piano Sonata (a too little explored segment of the repertory), classical (Haydn, rather than Mozart), baroque with (Jean Phillips Rameau, rather than Bach, (romantic (Chopin, of course), and 20th century (Prokofiev and Kapustin).

The hall was about 2/3 full by my estimate but the audience seemed quite attentive and appropriately respectful. That’s a good start but adding a soloist such as this cemented a bond with these sympathetic listeners with an auspicious debut by this (just barely pre-millennial) musician.

He became one with that gorgeous Steinway as he introduced the piano sonata Hob XVI:32 by Franz Josef Haydn (1732 to1809). This little gem seemed to echo both the keyboard works of Domenico Scarlatti and the much younger Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Haydn wrote some 50? Keyboard sonatas (compared to Mozart’s 17) but Haydn’s are curiously less frequently programmed than those of Mozart.

He continued with another piano sonata, Chopin’s second piano sonata Op.35 (the one with the oft quoted “funeral march”). Liu’s virtuosity and meticulous performance made it clear as to why he won that 2021 Chopin competition in Warsaw.

This writer was not familiar with most of the music on the program. Save for that “Funeral March” and the Rameau “La Poule” the works on this recital were Liu’s intelligent choices of works that have not been frequent visitors to the concert hall. But the works , very personal choices that showcase this artist’s strengths, range, and passions.

The first half of the program concluded Nikolai Kapustin’s (1932-2020) Variations Op. 41. From 1984. The work owes a great deal to the influence of jazz and Liu’s makes a compelling case that this work deserves to be heard with more frequency. The late composer was quite prolific (including 20 Piano Sonatas and a catalog that includes a catalog of some 161 opuses). A standing ovation with multiple curtain calls preceded the brief intermission.

Maestro Liu returned to the stage and delighted the audience with a selection of Jean Phillipe Rameau (1683-1764) from his Pièces de clavecin en concerts (1741), a major set of baroque keyboard works. Rameau was a contemporary of Bach but his work is not commonly featured in recitals. Liu effectively made a case that this work get more hearings.

After the well received performance of the Rameau pieces Liu brought us back to the twentieth century with a performance of Sergei Prokofiev’s (1891-1953) 7th Piano Sonata (1942), the middle work of the composer’s trilogy of the so called “War” Sonatas. It is an outstanding work into which Liu infused his virtuosity, interpretive skill, and sheer energy.

Another 3 curtain calls prompted Mr. Liu to grace us with some lovely encores including a hauntingly beautiful rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s prelude in E minor (triggering this listener to think again of Glenn Gould’s unique take on Bach). Liu then followed with a real crowd pleaser, the so called “minute waltz” by Chopin. I didn’t clock his performance but it was as full of the same life and energy as in the preceding works on this fine evening.

This was truly an exciting evening and I advise listeners to seek out anything this artist does. He does not disappoint.

The Metallurgy of Sadness: Rachel Barton Pine’s “Dependent Arising”


Dependent Arising

Rachel Barton Pine (1974- ) appears to have an incredibly wide range of musical interests and has managed to successfully integrate those into her musical career. Ranging from early, frequently little known, baroque composers to an expanded appreciation of grand romantic works, an intelligent selection of post 1900 composers (many little known) and some remarkable works commissioned by and for her, and heavy metal rock. And the single thread that seems to characterize, in this listener’s ear, her strength is the ability to choose music of substance and to then create insightful performances of those works.

Here she explores the sonic geography of angst and redemption in these two violin concertos written some . And this album embodies some of the qualities that make this violinist one that stands out distinctly in the crowd but in a way that is about identity rather than hierarchy. Her wide ranging musical interests are a part of her sonic autobiography. Here she reveals her interest and engagement with “heavy metal” music, a rock genre that began around 1970. In her liner notes she discusses this and manages to convincingly demonstrate a sort of “proto-metal” aspect in the first selection, the Shostakovich (1906-1975) First Violin Concerto of 1947-8 , a work notorious for its censure (the second of several such denunciations of the composer’s career) under the Zhdanov Doctrine. It was not premiered until 1955.

This somber masterpiece was written in the shadow of the horrors of the Second World War (ended only about three years before he completed this work) and reflects the composer’s deeply felt emotional memories. It was not remotely in compliance with the strictures enforced by the oppressive regime. tThey didn’t want to be reminded, much less honor, the atrocities and horrors of the war. Its premiere in 1955 (some two years after Josef Stalin’s death) by its dedicatee, the great David Oistrakh, saw the concerto earn a place in the respected repertoire of violin concertos. The four movement work is not what you want at a party unless you’re trying create a funereal vibe but it is quite beautiful in a modernist tinged, grand romantic idiom with all the hallmarks of the composer’s wry humor and his profound empathy.

Earl Maneein

The second selection, written some 80 years after the Shostakovich concerto, is a commission from a self described, “heavy metal” violinist named Earl Maneein. His is a name new to these ears but one clearly steeped with expertise in classical composition and heavy metal music both inflected with his spiritual practice of Buddhism.

Here is music from a composer who truly understands classical composition and his integration of “metal” elements is an expansion of classical composition, not a parody or an amateurish effort. This is a major concerto which gives the soloist an opportunity to show their technical and interpretive skills. I don’t know this musician and I’m not quite sure of the meaning of “metal music” as practiced now but I am positively enthralled by this work.

So we have another typical Rachel Barton Pine album, a fine reading of a classic (the Shostakovich one a bit under appreciated still) and a new work which strives to become a part of that repertoire and is likely to get their. Rachel’s virtuosity and interpretive skills are clearly evident as always and he journeys are effectively rethinking the canon of works for violin. Brava!