I have been talking about doing a recital for RCMS since my first term here in Cambridge, and it has never got done because I am very indecisive on my programme. I am glad that I have finally settled on one, and I hope you all enjoy the Part I of this two-part project.
MESSIAEN
Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
No. 2 "Regard de l’étoile"
BEETHOVEN
Piano Sonata No. 17 "The Tempest"
IVES
from Piano Sonata No. 2 "Concord, Mass., 1840-1860"
III. The Alcotts
CHOPIN
Ballade No. 2
BERG
Piano Sonata
Robinson College Chapel
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The origin of the project:
2006 is a terrible year - for me and my family, at least. It was the most traumatic experience to lose a number of close relatives and friends in such a short period of time. That was the time when I was formulating a programme and I just started learning Harrison Birtwistle’s Harrison’s Clocks No. 4, the fourth piece of the set of five piano etudes inspired by John Harrison’s mechanical clocks – No. 4 being a pocket watch. The pieces represent the mechanical movements of the clock parts and have very rigorous structures associated with the respective clocks. The pieces stop because the clock-spring is wound down, but time itself has not stopped. It goes on, but not necessarily constantly. Einstein got rid of the notions of absolute time and space with the Theory of Relativity. Just as a decaying body will take different form and shape, so can (space-)time. This led me to the idea of programming a concert on the subjects of life, death, time and decay. I have found too many fascinating pieces for time and decay that I have to split the programme into two parts in order to fit in with RCMS’s Friday night schedules (so people can go to Formal in time!) Part I deals with “life”, but by the end of it does not necessarily mean “death”, because “decay” will start immediately after the inevitable conclusion of life, and that will be the subject of Part II, which I hope to schedule in the near future.
It is then that I find Salvador Dalí’s most famous painting, The Persistence of Memory (1931), provides great visualization for the concept: melted clocks on peaceful land and face. Ants are Dalí’s symbolism for life, and in this painting they all stick to the pocket watch. What is more amazing is that, its sequel, The Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1952-1954), provides excellent illustration for Part II. By naming my recital after the great paintings, I hope my audience would make their own connections between the themes and the works that I am going to play tonight.
This project is dedicated to my late grandfather Choy Sik Ming (1919-2006) and my uncle Sammy Yuen (1947-2007), the memories of whom persist in my mind.
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MESSIAEN
Vingt regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
No. 2 "Regard de l’étoile"
Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus (1944) is one of the most successful and important sets of work in the 20th century piano literature. The work was conceived during the German Occupation of France and was eventually premiered by its dedicatee and the composer’s second wife, Yvonne Loriod, in 1945. It is a cycle of twenty piano pieces written as meditations on the childhood of Jesus which features several recurring leitmotifs, such as the “Theme of God” and “Theme of Joy”. The second one of the set is called “Gaze of the Stars - The fall of Grace: the Star shines innocently, surmounted by a Cross…” It is the shortest one of the twenty, and is effectively a prelude for the set. After a robust opening (which is to repeat itself twice later), the rather important “Theme of the Star and the Cross” enters in bare octaves. Instead of going into substantial development, the theme repeats itself in the left hand decorated by chime-like chords on the right, which concludes with three reassuring chords.
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BEETHOVEN
Piano Sonata No. 17 "The Tempest"
Beethoven’s Seventeenth Piano Sonata in D minor (1801/02) was the second of Op. 31 which was written during the more troublesome years of the composer’s life. Beethoven himself did not give the work the nickname “The Tempest”, but it was claimed by the Beethoven scholar Anton Schindler (1795 – 1864) that the work is inspired by and thus can be thoroughly understood by reading the Shakespeare play of the same name. Whether the claim is true or not, the sonata is indeed very tempestuous. The great sonata starts with a peaceful A major chord, which suddenly breaks into an unexpected turmoil of continuous fragments, resulting in an unsettling tremolo that penetrates the conversational first subject, which climaxes to the quietly intense second subject that consists of descending fragmented phrases akin to the opening, and which is accompanied by a rocking figure in the left hand. There is a long and introspective recitative at the end of the development section, before the abrupt interruption of chords which introduce the second subject again. The second movement, in B-flat major, is slower and more graceful. Somewhat unusual in the case of Beethoven, this middle movement lacks substantial development. It, however, allows a large range of tone colours to be displayed on the instrument, as demanded by the ornamental phrases and decorative figures in the left hand. The D minor third movement is in tripartite sonata form. It is relentless, almost exhaustive in fact, that fragmented and punctuated phrases fill the music continuously from the beginning to end, and that it forms a texture of such complexity. It is very fast flowing and involves a large range of dynamics and timbre. One tide after another, every turn of the phrases shows a sign of internal struggle which, by the end, does not end. The movement only finishes because of acceptance of fate, voluntarily or otherwise – perhaps a fitting testimony to the composer’s life too.
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IVES
from Piano Sonata No. 2 "Concord, Mass., 1840-1860"
III. The Alcotts
Ives’ monumental Piano Sonata No. 2, or commonly called the Concord Sonata (1904-1947), is a bizarrely unique piece. It is not a sonata in the conventional sense but is a four-movement piano work where each of the movements represents the philosophical and literary ideas of the four Transcendentalists – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau. For that reason, each of the movements can be a standalone piece in their own rights. The complete Concord Sonata is 45 minutes long and has optional parts for viola and flute in the second and fourth movements. Although the American composer is an amateur (his “day job” is an insurance agent), it is absolutely remarkable that he is able to construct musical textures of such great complexity. Whilst most of his works are largely neglected (partly due to the technical difficulties), Ives is remembered as a true original of his generation. “The Alcotts” from the Concord Sonata is amongst the more accessible pieces. It is the more lyrical movement of the four, and like the others, makes great use of the famous “fate” motif from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. In Ives’ Essays before a Sonata, the composer wrote: “Concord village, itself, reminds one of that common virtue lying at the height and root of all the Concord divinities. As one walks down the broad-arched street… he comes presently beneath the old elms overspreading the Alcott house. It seems to stand as a kind of homely but beautiful witness of Concord’s common virtue – it seems to bear a consciousness that its past is living…” It has the sense of tranquility and peacefulness that one would find in an Edward Hopper painting, that of “a strength of hope that never gives way to despair”, wrote Ives.
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CHOPIN
Ballade No. 2
Frédéric Chopin pretty much single-handedly came up with the idea of instrumental ballades. The term was used by the Polish composer to describe the four grand-scale single-movement piano pieces which possess great dramatic qualities (Op. 23, 38, 47 and 52) The second one of these was composed from 1836 to 1839 and is dedicated to Robert Schumann. It starts off clearly as a barcarolle in F major in a pseudo-SATB fashion concluding with a perfect cadence. In a stark contrast, it then breaks into a Presto con fuoco second section in A minor, with bare octaves on the left hand and arpeggios recalling the first section on the right in contrary motion. The development is a polyphonic structure based on the opening motifs, followed by a recapitulation of the Presto section, which eventually erupts into a bombastic Agitato ending. The piece ends on A minor – and has in fact never returned to F major since its departure.
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BERG
Piano Sonata
Tonight’s programme concludes with Alban Berg’s monumental single-movement Piano Sonata, the composer’s Op. 1 (1907/08). It was written in the midst of a troubling time for the composer when his fiancée’s parents objected to the marriage because of his unstable health. It is one of the first mature works he conceived under his teacher Arnold Schoenberg, one of the first prominent advocates of atonality and serialism. The work is centred in B minor but the frequent use of chromaticisms, whole-tone scales and key modulations give it a very unstable feeling. It takes a relatively simple sonata form, but the thematic development is based on Schoenberg’s idea of variation from a single theme. The theme breaks in right at the beginning with a clashing quartal chord, immediately setting a very unsettling mood. The subsequent sections are all based on this opening phrase in a polyphonic array. The juxtapositions of the varied themes create a mesmerisingly complex texture and wonderful harmonies. The piece is finally and reluctantly settled down from the previous temperamental development, signifying that unity is achieved, perhaps in more than one way – but has to face the eventual disintegration, a fate that will ultimately come upon all…
02 November, 2007
17 August, 2007
Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale (HKS / Yip)
Stravinsky: The Soldier's Tale
Friday 17th August 2007
Hong Kong City Hall
STRAVINSKY Pulcinella Suite
STRAVINSKY The Firebird Suite (1919)
STRAVINSKY The Soldier's Tale Suite*
Hong Kong Sinfonietta
Wing-sie Yip conductor
*Charles Ferdinand Ramuz Text
*Michael Lam Adaptation
Fredric Mao Narrator
Xing Liang, Shirai Tsuyoshi, Jay Jen Loo, Abby Chan Dancers
Ewing Chan Set Designer and Art Director
Billy Chan Lighting Designer
Yuri Ng Director and Choreographer
The Hong Kong Sinfonietta has some strange obsession with Stravinsky, I'm pretty sure, and Respighi. The last time I saw them (which was two or three years ago, I think), they did Pulcinella as well and there is some Stravinsky in a few of their future concerts too. Just because it's Stravinsky 125... (and they didn't do much for Shostakovich's 100!)
This was intended to be an all-Stravinsky programme fused with bits of drama and dance inspired by the composer's relatively less popular work The Soldier's Tale, with the order Pulcinella, Soldier's Tale then ending with The Firebird. According to the programme notes, however, this raised considerable practical issues so we were presented with the current programme, which can be conveniently split into two parts. The first part was pure conventional music appreciation, and the second was a bizarre and unique collaboration among the musical, dramatic and dance talents in Hong Kong. I shall come back to this later.
The concert opened with the suite of Pulcinella. This pivotal neoclassical work was written with modest musical force, which I think suites the Sinfonietta very well. Yip tackled the work with her usual solid and calm approach, which gave us a highly compact and clean sound throughout (albeit sometimes overly hygienic), which was very impressive, especially it is a local orchestra. The bassoonist was amazing in the "Gavotte", likewise the winds throughout, and overall it was a very well rehearsed performance.
The Firebird is one of Stravinsky's earlier work, written in his modernist period. Like the other two works in the programme, it was originally written for a ballet. The idea of programming The Firebird with the Sinfonietta surprised me. Either the (significantly) longer and bigger 1910 ballet version or the 1919 concert version it is a very complicated and difficult piece to put together and requires a huge orcestra. The Sinfonietta did an excellent job in pulling out the complex texture of the piece and Yip's cool style of conducting contributed greatly into putting the instruments at the right place. It was not a flamboyantly exciting performance (as it is mostly nowadays) but it was a very well crafted product. The fact that it was not deliberately over-the-top added greatly to the enjoyment factor. The strings were quite amazing in the "Dance", and the orchestra was very well balanced in the "Infernal Dance" (The 1919 version places the "Infernal Dance" right after the "Dances of the Princess", and that sudden loud bang shocked lots of unsuspecting audiences. It was somewhat amusing.) Of the few performances of The Firebird I have been to, this is not the best one, but is very nearly there. Another thing I want to mention is that - there was an artificial garden-maze thing in the choir stall, in which one of the dances (Abby Chan) took a slow wander during "Dance of the Princess" for some reasons I do not understand. She later took the stage before the interval by dispencing water from a water machine placed oddly by the edge of the stage, and collecting mugs on the floor.
The interval gives the backstage staff sufficient time to reset the stage. The music of The Soldier's Tale itself only requires nine people plus the conductor, but the second half of the programme is a very special contemporary dance-drama performance featuring some amazing artists from the respective industries using Stravinsky's music. So the orchestra plays on the left of the stage, and the right leaves sufficient room for dance for four people. The story of the music tells of a soldier who sells his violin, and eventually, soul to the devil. A typical fall-from-grace story, if you like. The light of the stage changed to bright red (perhaps signalling that it is hell?) and the performance started with a tape playing lots of conversation and tuning noise (sound collage?). Then the narrator and one of the dancers came in and the story formally began. The originally libretto was adapted by Michael Lam and read out in Mandarin by Fredric Mao. Then the orchesra entered the stage, and played the main tune. The music was fragmented and played around for the dance. The whole construction was somewhat surrealist, and very well choreographed. I don't know the art of dance, but the body movements were blatantly amazing, and worked very nicely with the music. There was a very stark contrast between the static and the dynamic - and perhaps more importantly, the omnipresence of the devil, watching the soldier, and everyone, all the time. I paid little attention to the music, as I just took in the performance as a whole. It was certainly entertaining, but I must say it was beyond my comprehension.
Lastly, I think the programme notes are exceptionally well done. They are entertaining and, above all, very informative. It gives lots of information on the conception of the programme, and the works themselves. It even gives the orchestration of the works too.
I look forward to many great future concerts with the Sinfonietta. If only they do more contemporary work...
This entry is adopted from an earlier blog of mine, which no longer exists.
Friday 17th August 2007
Hong Kong City Hall
STRAVINSKY Pulcinella Suite
STRAVINSKY The Firebird Suite (1919)
STRAVINSKY The Soldier's Tale Suite*
Hong Kong Sinfonietta
Wing-sie Yip conductor
*Charles Ferdinand Ramuz Text
*Michael Lam Adaptation
Fredric Mao Narrator
Xing Liang, Shirai Tsuyoshi, Jay Jen Loo, Abby Chan Dancers
Ewing Chan Set Designer and Art Director
Billy Chan Lighting Designer
Yuri Ng Director and Choreographer
The Hong Kong Sinfonietta has some strange obsession with Stravinsky, I'm pretty sure, and Respighi. The last time I saw them (which was two or three years ago, I think), they did Pulcinella as well and there is some Stravinsky in a few of their future concerts too. Just because it's Stravinsky 125... (and they didn't do much for Shostakovich's 100!)
This was intended to be an all-Stravinsky programme fused with bits of drama and dance inspired by the composer's relatively less popular work The Soldier's Tale, with the order Pulcinella, Soldier's Tale then ending with The Firebird. According to the programme notes, however, this raised considerable practical issues so we were presented with the current programme, which can be conveniently split into two parts. The first part was pure conventional music appreciation, and the second was a bizarre and unique collaboration among the musical, dramatic and dance talents in Hong Kong. I shall come back to this later.
The concert opened with the suite of Pulcinella. This pivotal neoclassical work was written with modest musical force, which I think suites the Sinfonietta very well. Yip tackled the work with her usual solid and calm approach, which gave us a highly compact and clean sound throughout (albeit sometimes overly hygienic), which was very impressive, especially it is a local orchestra. The bassoonist was amazing in the "Gavotte", likewise the winds throughout, and overall it was a very well rehearsed performance.
The Firebird is one of Stravinsky's earlier work, written in his modernist period. Like the other two works in the programme, it was originally written for a ballet. The idea of programming The Firebird with the Sinfonietta surprised me. Either the (significantly) longer and bigger 1910 ballet version or the 1919 concert version it is a very complicated and difficult piece to put together and requires a huge orcestra. The Sinfonietta did an excellent job in pulling out the complex texture of the piece and Yip's cool style of conducting contributed greatly into putting the instruments at the right place. It was not a flamboyantly exciting performance (as it is mostly nowadays) but it was a very well crafted product. The fact that it was not deliberately over-the-top added greatly to the enjoyment factor. The strings were quite amazing in the "Dance", and the orchestra was very well balanced in the "Infernal Dance" (The 1919 version places the "Infernal Dance" right after the "Dances of the Princess", and that sudden loud bang shocked lots of unsuspecting audiences. It was somewhat amusing.) Of the few performances of The Firebird I have been to, this is not the best one, but is very nearly there. Another thing I want to mention is that - there was an artificial garden-maze thing in the choir stall, in which one of the dances (Abby Chan) took a slow wander during "Dance of the Princess" for some reasons I do not understand. She later took the stage before the interval by dispencing water from a water machine placed oddly by the edge of the stage, and collecting mugs on the floor.
The interval gives the backstage staff sufficient time to reset the stage. The music of The Soldier's Tale itself only requires nine people plus the conductor, but the second half of the programme is a very special contemporary dance-drama performance featuring some amazing artists from the respective industries using Stravinsky's music. So the orchestra plays on the left of the stage, and the right leaves sufficient room for dance for four people. The story of the music tells of a soldier who sells his violin, and eventually, soul to the devil. A typical fall-from-grace story, if you like. The light of the stage changed to bright red (perhaps signalling that it is hell?) and the performance started with a tape playing lots of conversation and tuning noise (sound collage?). Then the narrator and one of the dancers came in and the story formally began. The originally libretto was adapted by Michael Lam and read out in Mandarin by Fredric Mao. Then the orchesra entered the stage, and played the main tune. The music was fragmented and played around for the dance. The whole construction was somewhat surrealist, and very well choreographed. I don't know the art of dance, but the body movements were blatantly amazing, and worked very nicely with the music. There was a very stark contrast between the static and the dynamic - and perhaps more importantly, the omnipresence of the devil, watching the soldier, and everyone, all the time. I paid little attention to the music, as I just took in the performance as a whole. It was certainly entertaining, but I must say it was beyond my comprehension.
Lastly, I think the programme notes are exceptionally well done. They are entertaining and, above all, very informative. It gives lots of information on the conception of the programme, and the works themselves. It even gives the orchestration of the works too.
I look forward to many great future concerts with the Sinfonietta. If only they do more contemporary work...
This entry is adopted from an earlier blog of mine, which no longer exists.
12 June, 2007
Maurizio Pollini at Barbican
Maurizio Pollini in Concert
Tuesday 12th June 2007
Barbican Hall
Chopin Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45
Chopin Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38
Chopin Two Nocturnes, Op. 27 (No. 1 in C-sharp minor; No. 2 in D-flat major)
Chopin Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39
Chopin Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53
Liszt Nuages gris
Liszt Unstern
Liszt La lugubre gondola No. 1
Liszt R.W. - Venezia
Liszt Sonata in B minor
It has been almost a year since the last full scale piano recital that I saw. To be fair, there are plenty of decent recitals around, but most of the time they play works Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov which, really, can be a bit dry. (Still appreciate them, just a bit dry.) Maurizio Pollini has been one of my favourite pianists of all time and I have always wanted to see him live. Winner of the 1960 Warsaw Chopin Competition, he is one of the most important musicians around and has the reputation of putting some of the most curious programmes like Chopin against Stockhausen or Liszt against Nono so I did expect to see him playing Schoenberg (Suite, Op. 25), Berg (Sonata Op. 1) and Webern (Variations, Op. 27), not to mention Boulez Sonata No. 2, which he championed. Well, none of them were played, and it was an all-Chopin and Liszt programme, starting with several Chopin gems and concluding with the meaty B minor Sonata by Liszt.
It was my first time to the Barbican Hall so I am not too familiar with the acoustics. Sitting at the back of the middle section, the sound was fairly solid, with the inevitable feeling of being quite distant (both aurally and visually) from the performer. Still, it was quite amazing to see Pollini live.
Pollini started off gently with Chopin's C-sharp minor Prelude (Op. 45) which was pretty sweet. Both this and the two Op. 27 Nocturnes a while later were magically phrased, with much polished delicacy (no pun intended) and support. Sandwiched between them was Ballade No. 2, the one with the barcarolle opening. He started it off at a rather fast tempo, making the Presto con fuoco section seem indifferent to the preceding opening, which was a bit awkward. It is a terribly difficult piece, and Pollini (unusually) showed signs of struggle at the demanding places in the presto bit and in the conclusion. It sounded blurry and rushed at times as well. Scherzo No. 3 and the popular Polonaise in A flat major (Op. 53), on the other hand, were quite amazing. The technical flair he was able to demonstrate was simply jaw-dropping, and the sense of rhythm in both action-packed pieces was top-notch. I start to understand why he is one of the very few people on Earth who can play Bartok's Second Piano Concerto live. The only disappointment, however, was that the piano was slightly out of tune and it buzzed quite a lot. Whilst one might be able to get away with it in the preludes and nocturnes, it was just too distracting when it buzzes every time Pollini hits a note in the lower register of the keyboard, given the ostinato in the polonaise. The problem persists in this concert, and was even more annoying in the upcoming Liszt Sonata.
Immediately after the interval, Pollini played four short late works by Liszt, which were Nuages gris, Unstern, La lugubre gondola No. 1 and R.W. - Venezia. They are fairly atypical works by Liszt, which he wrote in view of death and are very dark, and very adventurous in tonal language. (For example, in the Nuages gris, there is a passage of chromaticism against whole-tone scale) Pollini played them with much emotional attachment (I hope this is not prophetic) and great sense of bleakness and despair. It was some painful and intense 15 minutes of soul confinement, which was to be disturbed, somewhat anti-climactically, by the hopeful entrance of the B minor Sonata, one of Liszt's most celebrated masterpieces. It is huge in construction. This is one big mountain to climb for any professional pianist. From the great distance, Pollini seemed to pull it off completely effortlessly, something which I am quite jealous of. He made all the tiny and frequent hammering looked like a walk in the park. It was expectedly great, but I was still surprised by how great it was - thirty minutes of fantastic pianism. But again, with all the passages in the lower register in the exposition and later in the recapitulation, the piano was very annoying. I hate to say, but it destroyed the mood, no matter how great Pollini was.
As much as I wanted a Schoenberg or Webern encore, he played Debussy's "La Cathedrale engloutie" Prelude (slight change of mood) to great applause, which was followed by Chopin's Revolutionary Etude which was always fun to see, and, after much request, Chopin's Ballade No. 1, which was another great demonstration of his technical mastery. More than half of the hall gave him standing ovation afterwards.
It was a wonderful concert, with the exception of the piano being very dodgy. It was a shame I could not get an autograph from / photo with him this time, but I would definitely go and see him again, if I'd ever have a chance, hopefully with a bit of Pierre Boulez. He is doing a Nono concert (...sofferte onde serene...) at the RFH in October...
This entry is adopted from an earlier blog of mine, which no longer exists.
Tuesday 12th June 2007
Barbican Hall
Chopin Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45
Chopin Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38
Chopin Two Nocturnes, Op. 27 (No. 1 in C-sharp minor; No. 2 in D-flat major)
Chopin Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39
Chopin Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53
Liszt Nuages gris
Liszt Unstern
Liszt La lugubre gondola No. 1
Liszt R.W. - Venezia
Liszt Sonata in B minor
It has been almost a year since the last full scale piano recital that I saw. To be fair, there are plenty of decent recitals around, but most of the time they play works Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov which, really, can be a bit dry. (Still appreciate them, just a bit dry.) Maurizio Pollini has been one of my favourite pianists of all time and I have always wanted to see him live. Winner of the 1960 Warsaw Chopin Competition, he is one of the most important musicians around and has the reputation of putting some of the most curious programmes like Chopin against Stockhausen or Liszt against Nono so I did expect to see him playing Schoenberg (Suite, Op. 25), Berg (Sonata Op. 1) and Webern (Variations, Op. 27), not to mention Boulez Sonata No. 2, which he championed. Well, none of them were played, and it was an all-Chopin and Liszt programme, starting with several Chopin gems and concluding with the meaty B minor Sonata by Liszt.
It was my first time to the Barbican Hall so I am not too familiar with the acoustics. Sitting at the back of the middle section, the sound was fairly solid, with the inevitable feeling of being quite distant (both aurally and visually) from the performer. Still, it was quite amazing to see Pollini live.
Pollini started off gently with Chopin's C-sharp minor Prelude (Op. 45) which was pretty sweet. Both this and the two Op. 27 Nocturnes a while later were magically phrased, with much polished delicacy (no pun intended) and support. Sandwiched between them was Ballade No. 2, the one with the barcarolle opening. He started it off at a rather fast tempo, making the Presto con fuoco section seem indifferent to the preceding opening, which was a bit awkward. It is a terribly difficult piece, and Pollini (unusually) showed signs of struggle at the demanding places in the presto bit and in the conclusion. It sounded blurry and rushed at times as well. Scherzo No. 3 and the popular Polonaise in A flat major (Op. 53), on the other hand, were quite amazing. The technical flair he was able to demonstrate was simply jaw-dropping, and the sense of rhythm in both action-packed pieces was top-notch. I start to understand why he is one of the very few people on Earth who can play Bartok's Second Piano Concerto live. The only disappointment, however, was that the piano was slightly out of tune and it buzzed quite a lot. Whilst one might be able to get away with it in the preludes and nocturnes, it was just too distracting when it buzzes every time Pollini hits a note in the lower register of the keyboard, given the ostinato in the polonaise. The problem persists in this concert, and was even more annoying in the upcoming Liszt Sonata.
Immediately after the interval, Pollini played four short late works by Liszt, which were Nuages gris, Unstern, La lugubre gondola No. 1 and R.W. - Venezia. They are fairly atypical works by Liszt, which he wrote in view of death and are very dark, and very adventurous in tonal language. (For example, in the Nuages gris, there is a passage of chromaticism against whole-tone scale) Pollini played them with much emotional attachment (I hope this is not prophetic) and great sense of bleakness and despair. It was some painful and intense 15 minutes of soul confinement, which was to be disturbed, somewhat anti-climactically, by the hopeful entrance of the B minor Sonata, one of Liszt's most celebrated masterpieces. It is huge in construction. This is one big mountain to climb for any professional pianist. From the great distance, Pollini seemed to pull it off completely effortlessly, something which I am quite jealous of. He made all the tiny and frequent hammering looked like a walk in the park. It was expectedly great, but I was still surprised by how great it was - thirty minutes of fantastic pianism. But again, with all the passages in the lower register in the exposition and later in the recapitulation, the piano was very annoying. I hate to say, but it destroyed the mood, no matter how great Pollini was.
As much as I wanted a Schoenberg or Webern encore, he played Debussy's "La Cathedrale engloutie" Prelude (slight change of mood) to great applause, which was followed by Chopin's Revolutionary Etude which was always fun to see, and, after much request, Chopin's Ballade No. 1, which was another great demonstration of his technical mastery. More than half of the hall gave him standing ovation afterwards.
It was a wonderful concert, with the exception of the piano being very dodgy. It was a shame I could not get an autograph from / photo with him this time, but I would definitely go and see him again, if I'd ever have a chance, hopefully with a bit of Pierre Boulez. He is doing a Nono concert (...sofferte onde serene...) at the RFH in October...
This entry is adopted from an earlier blog of mine, which no longer exists.
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