Angela Hewitt, piano. Preludes and Fugues by Bach, Mendelssohn, Shostakovich, Barber. Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1 Op. 11. Jan. 14 in Koerner Hall. Presented by the Royal Conservatory of Music.
For decades Angela Hewitt has been finding ways of making a piano recital seem special. The London-based Canadian was at it again Sunday afternoon before a sellout crowd in Koerner Hall.
The first half of the program was certainly original, made as it was entirely of preludes and fugues, beginning with the first six pairs from Book I of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. The beloved and eminently playable opening Prelude in C Major gave a fair indication of what was to come, its simple but vivid harmonies rendered in subtle colours. Pointed articulation came to the fore in the following fugue. Voices were clear but mutually engaged.
Everywhere the characterization seemed apt. Flourishes in the C Minor Prelude were done in high baroque style; the D Minor Fugue ended with a romantic fadeout. The light-and-lively D major Prelude contrasted nicely with the ceremonial pomp of its companion; the improvisatory C Sharp Minor Prelude led with equal propriety to the deep contemplation of its five-voice running mate.
The remainder of the first half was unambiguously for the piano: Mendelssohn’s prolix Prelude and Fugue in E Minor Op. 35 No. 1, with its gratuitous invocation of Ein feste Burg; the smartly lyrical F Minor entries from Shostakovich’s post-Bach 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 87; and the jazzy fugal finale of Samuel Barber’s monstrously difficult Sonata Op. 26, which the composer said (according to Hewitt’s program note) could be performed independently. Here Hewitt managed not only to get the notes but to swing while getting them.
Committing all this counterpoint to memory was an impressive feat regardless of the purely technical challenges, especially under the conditions the pianist imposed: continuous performance with no applause between pieces (and therefore no backstage breaks). Hewitt evidently savours the monastic ambience created by this approach but there is something to be said also for cleansing the aural palate between Bach and Mendelssohn and Mendelssohn and Shostakovich and so on.
There was, of course, an intermission, after which we heard Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 1 Op. 11, a work that comes across as a half-hour fantasy with its unpredictable bursts of poetic sentiment. Hewitt writes that the piece was crucial to her development “as a pianist and a person.” We could hear this in the songful bass line of the Aria, and the humorous polonaise sequence, with its direct channeling of the extroverted (and to my ears, dominant) side of Hewitt’s personality.
As always with this artist, there is more to the performance than playing. We get a gracious yet cordial stage presence, an array of communicative facial expressions, not one but two elegant gowns, and an intriguing resemblance to Princess Anne.
It all added up to a quick standing ovation after the Schumann. The encore was an unduly languorous rendition of Richard Strauss’s song Morgen! as arranged by Max Reger. This pianist even provides something for a critic to complain about. Many thanks, Angela!
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