{"id":8325,"date":"2012-12-09T20:32:06","date_gmt":"2012-12-10T01:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=8325"},"modified":"2012-12-09T20:32:06","modified_gmt":"2012-12-10T01:32:06","slug":"concert-review-pianist-valentina-lisitsa-threads-personal-path-through-koerner-hall-programme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2012\/12\/09\/concert-review-pianist-valentina-lisitsa-threads-personal-path-through-koerner-hall-programme\/","title":{"rendered":"Concert review: Pianist Valentina Lisitsa threads personal path through Koerner Hall programme"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Valentina Lisitsa plays Prokofiev at Koerner Hall on Sunday afternoon (John Terauds iPhone photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pianist Valentina Lisitsa played for more than 2-1\/2 hours at Koerner Hall on Sunday afternoon and still managed to leave a wildly enthusiastic audience clamouring for more.<\/p>\n

But for me, the recital that had whipped so many people up into delighted ovations was an exercise in frustration.<\/p>\n

There’s no doubt that Lisitsa’s solo d\u00e9but in Toronto was a tremendous achievement: a show of phenomenal technique as well as an opportunity to witness someone with a very clear sense of what they want to do and how they want to do it.<\/p>\n

Lisitsa is an artist like no other — not only for her phenomenal success in building a career via YouTube.<\/p>\n

There were portions of Sunday’s recital that I thought were wonderful. Others were tedious or contentious. It’s rare for one artist to elicit so many different emotions in one sitting.<\/p>\n

First, the fine stuff: Lisitsa’s performance of five Franz Liszt reminiscences of Franz Schubert songs was nothing short of transcendant.<\/p>\n

The melodies give these pieces a deceptively simple air, but Liszt has, in fact buried those melodies deep inside grey hay bales of other notes.\u00a0Miraculously, Lisitsa made each one sing with the legato and phrasing of a fine Lieder<\/em> interpreter, all the while tossing off the technical hurdles with deceptive ease.<\/p>\n

The Ukrainian-born-and-trained pianist also put forward some wonderful passages in Sergei Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 7<\/em>, one of his three War Sonatas. But the moments of excellence — especially the all-hell-breaks-loose final movement, in which Lisitsa maintained the composer’s rhythmic track like a reliable machine — were mixed with the humdrum, especially the second movement, which was short on a seductive touch to go with the quasi-erotic harmonies.<\/p>\n

There was a Bach-Busoni chorale and Beethoven’s “Appassionata” Sonata, which Lisitsa played cleanly but a bit too heavily and deliberately to be remarkable.<\/p>\n

And then there were eight Nocturnes<\/em> by Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Chopin, which, in my opinion, Lisitsa destroyed.<\/p>\n

Her overall approach was one of languor and reverie, taking each piece at a slow tempo and breaking up the melodies in a quest to noodle. This robbed each piece of its natural momentum and continuity. (Every pianist needs to remember that Chopin’s biggest inspiration was bel canto opera).<\/p>\n

Lisitsa made the situation worse by ignoring several climaxes through the eight pieces, creating an overall monotony that made the eight da capo aria-like pieces sweetly pretty in a pastel-like way. They also became desperately dull.<\/p>\n

This is clearly a matter of personal preference, but I found Lisitsa’s chosen B\u00f6sendorfer piano to not be a helpful partner. The instrument’s bass was muddy and dark, while the treble was bright and tinkly, robbing many pieces from an overall sonic balance and overall clarity.<\/p>\n

To be fair, though, Lisitsa deserves kudos for striking her own path through a world overpopulated with competent pianists. She puts her own stamp on whatever she touches, and is willing to take risks.<\/p>\n

Colour beats blandness any day — and millions appear to agree with her way of playing music.<\/p>\n

John Terauds<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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