{"id":11438,"date":"2013-04-11T07:04:28","date_gmt":"2013-04-11T12:04:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=11438"},"modified":"2013-04-11T07:04:28","modified_gmt":"2013-04-11T12:04:28","slug":"keyboard-thursday-album-review-the-many-charms-of-honens-winner-pavel-kolesnikov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2013\/04\/11\/keyboard-thursday-album-review-the-many-charms-of-honens-winner-pavel-kolesnikov\/","title":{"rendered":"Keyboard Thursday album review: The many charms of Honens Winner Pavel Kolesnikov"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"(Colin<\/a>
(Colin Way photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There’s a lot to be said for simple charms — something that 23-year-old Russian pianist Pavel Kolesnikov displayed in abundance at the Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary last fall. Some of his finest moments at Calgary’s Jack Singer Concert Hall have been released in a 2-CD album, as part of the competition’s rich prize and career-development package.<\/p>\n

Kolesnikov has poise and polish, but there’s a lyricism to his playing that makes it stand out from the exceptionally high baseline of the average 21st century would-be professional pianist.<\/p>\n

\"honenscd\"<\/a>The first disc contains solo-piano performances. The highlights are a Chopin B minor Sonata No. 3<\/em> that sings from the first note to the last and Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen<\/em>, which are anything but child’s play to carry off. You can hear the tousle-haired artist smiling his way through these miniatures.<\/p>\n

The CD opens with Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata<\/em>. It’s a perfectly competent reading, but not remarkable in any way, making it an unfortunate introduction to what really are beguiling sounds coming from Kolesnikov’s fingertips.<\/p>\n

The second CD features the finals performance of Peter Ilytch Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1<\/em> with the Calgary Philharmonic and music director Roberto Minczuk. Kolesnikov had fun with this old warhorse, but this fine performance is in no way exceptional.<\/p>\n

Also on the disc is a strong-yet-sweet take on Felix Mendelssohn’s Sonata for cello and piano No. 2<\/em>. Both Kolesnikov and cellist Johannes Moser find a nice balance between power and delicacy in this nicely wrought concert piece. Mendelssohn needs to sparkle and sing, and both of these talented players know how to carry it off.<\/p>\n

The Honens competition makes a big deal about how it looks for a complete artist — one who knows how to collaborate and sit in the spotlight alone, as well as one who knows how to put together a programme and present it in an engaging way. These two discs go a long way toward assuring us that their most recent laureate has a promising future.<\/p>\n

You can find out more about the album here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Honens provided live streaming of its semi-finals and finals, which are available on Vimeo as videos. Here is a sample of Kolesnikov’s charms from the collaborative concert, most of which didn’t make it onto the disc.<\/p>\n

Instead of paying attention to soprano Amanda Roocroft, note the beauty of Koesnikov’s work at the piano. St Lawrence String Quartet violinist Geoff Nuttall joins Kolesnikov in an engaging performance of Beethoven’s Sonata for violin and piano No. 10<\/em> at the 12-1\/2-minute mark:<\/p>\n