It is rare to have a concert programme set up as expertly as the playing itself. But that’s the appeal of veteran Canadian pianist André Laplante, who performed memorably well at the first of his southern Ontario summer festival appearances at Niagara-on-the-Lake on Thursday night.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
Music Niagara was the beneficiary of Laplante’s many talents, at the acoustically friendly (and air conditioned) St Mark’s Church.
Laplante presented a fascinating programme, a rich mixture of Golden Age piano echoes from the 19th century, contrapuntal rigor, Romantic effusion, virtuosic fireworks, thoughtful intimacy and, as a bonus to be triple underlined, performances of two modern Canadian classics that are in danger of being left in the dust of the pre-Baby Boomer Silent Generation.
This performer’s technique is fabulous. His musicality is deep and individual, not sounding like anyone else — yet not trying to be different for the sake of being different. And each composer and piece was approached on its own terms.
The programme opened with J.S. Bach — a Romanticlaly inclined interpretation of the intimate E-flat minor Prelude and Fugue from the Well Tempered Clavier (BWV 853), followed by the Edwardian grandeur of Ferrucio Busoni’s transcription of the C Major Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major, BWV 564.
Bach’s contrapuntal rigor was mirrored in Jacques Hétu’s Piano Variations — one of the few modern Canadian works recorded by Glenn Gould, while Busoni’s love of expanded tonal colour was reflected in François Morel’s contemporaneous Deux études de sonorité, surely modern classics if we have any in this country.
We were treated to a Franz Liszt Petrarch Sonnet (No. 104) before Laplante settled in for richly layered interpretations of a Moment Musical and the “Wanderer” Fantasy by Franz Schubert.
The evening was a treat from beginning to end. It was both exalting and introspective, inducing smiles as well as goosebumps.
Laplante repeats this programme at Westben on Saturday afternoon, in the magical, pastoral setting of that festival’s open-walled barn (details here). The pianist then settles in for a residency at the Toronto Summer Music Festival for a series of masterclasses as well as collaborative concerts (details here).
Catch this great artist while you can; like butterflies, he only seems to appear in these parts in the summertime.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
