Bach - "Siciliano" from Concerto in D Minor, BWV 596 (after Vivaldi, Op. 3, No. 11; arr. Cortot)
Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 (arr. Busoni)
Schubert - Moment musical in A-flat Major, D. 780, No. 2
Schubert - Moment musical in F Minor, D. 780, No. 3
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, Op. 57, "Appassionata"
Prokofiev - Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82
Balakirev - Islamey
Striking arrangements of Baroque music, poetic miniatures, tempestuous sonatas, and an exotic showpiece are performed by an exciting young pianist who is taking the world’s stages by storm. Behzod Abduraimov has been praised by The New York Timesfor his “fluid finger work … dash and appealing impetuosity.” Cortot’s arrangement of Bach’s "Siciliano" from the Concerto in D Minor, BWV 596, has a stately beauty, while Schubert’s Moments musicaux are understated gems with gorgeous melodies. Beethoven’s “Appassionata” is famous for its stormy outer movements, but the theme and variations that comprise its central movement also fascinate. There are also exciting showpieces by two Russian composers, Balkakirev and Prokofiev.
Review: No Blood Spilled at This Concert (Though It Seemed So)
By CORINNA da FONSECA-WOLLHEIM•
Behzod Abduraimov performing in his solo piano recital at Carnegie Hall.Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times
Before he played the first encore to his brilliant solo piano recital at Carnegie Hall, Behzod Abduraimov pulled out a handkerchief and wiped down the keys.
It was just sweat, his publicist told me later. I’m glad I checked, though. Because at that point, after a finger-twisting, knuckle-shredding performance of bravura pieces, including Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 6 and Balakirev’s “Islamey,” I feared that this 26-year-old whiz from Uzbekistan might have actually shed blood.
I don’t mean to give the wrong impression: There’s nothing gratuitously gladiatorial about Mr. Abduraimov’s playing. Yes, he dispatched “Islamey” faster than anyone I’ve heard, his forearms a hummingbird blur in the grueling passagework. But his swift rise on the concert scene — this appearance on the main Stern Auditorium stage here came less than two years after his recital debut at the intimate Weill Recital Hall — is due as much to his profound musicality as to his power and speed.
Mr. Abduraimov also knows how to build a good program. He opened with Bach, but in rarely heard arrangements: a dreamy Siciliano from the Concerto in D minor (arranged by Alfred Cortot) and Busoni’s transcription of the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, which, in its original organ version, has entered popular culture as a shorthand for Halloween horror. In his playing Mr. Abduraimov conjured some of the qualities of the organ’s sound, building up block-like dynamics and allowing notes to blur just a little.
The “Moment Musical” in A flat (D. 780) by Schubert, which followed, picked up the lilting dotted rhythm of the Siciliano, but with vulnerability and doubt in place of Bach’s soothing equanimity. Another “Moment Musical,” in F Minor, its momentum chirpy and steady like a windup toy, showed that Mr. Abduraimov knows how to get out of the way of the music, imposing his will in just one brief tease of the tempo.
Behzod Abduraimov - Piano Sonata No. 23 in F Minor, "Appassionata"- Beethoven: Verbier Festival 2016 Video by medici.tv
His maturity was evident in his reading of Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata, which balanced dramatic thrust with a wonderful sense of flow. His sound has an appealing warmth even in the most testosterone-fueled outbursts. And stark dynamic contrasts still feel part of the same epic canvas. Prokofiev’s thorny Piano Sonata No. 6 — in many ways an “Appassionata” updated to reflect the horrors of the 20th century — also became a vehicle for Mr. Abduraimov’s purposeful storytelling and sense of space.
Two encores, Tchaikovsky’s Nocturne in C sharp minor and Liszt’s “La Campanella” étude, were gratefully received by the enthusiastic audience.
Watching Mr. Abduraimov play, I was struck by his undulating torso movements, which look a bit like the chaturanga push-ups in yoga, and seem to make visual his unshaking sense of pulse. His playing reminded me of a conversation I recently had with a musician who offered this definition of talent: open channels. Mr. Abduraimov’s music-making fits that description.
No comments:
Post a Comment