Friday
2nd July 2004
Victoria Concert Hall
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Singapore International
Piano Festival |
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Franz LISZT Scherzo and March S.177 Frederic CHOPIN Three Mazurkas Op.59 Charles-Valentin ALKAN Symphony for Piano Solo from Twelve Etudes in Minor Keys. Op.39 No.4-7 Leslie HOWARD, piano |
OVERALL NOISE RATING:
2
(Quite
a quiet audience)
The Noise Rating Index is a partially-objective measurement of pager and handphone blasts, 9pm and 10pm watch beeps, coughing-during-the-pianissimo-bits, intra-audience conversation and other mind-bogglingly inept noises emitted in the concert hall during actual performance of music. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 5, in increasing annoyance.
This review has been kindly sponsored by the
Singapore International Piano
Festival
Read reviews for all 4 nights!
First Night Second Night Third Night Fourth Night
by Derek Lim
Tonight’s pianist was to have been the late lamented Ronald Smith, instead, due to his untimely death, the Australian pianist Leslie Howard took his place, in a concert program dedicated to the memory of Mr Smith. Fittingly, it was the Alkan that turned out the best in this program of super-virtuosity. I had the pleasure of hearing Leslie Howard, in concert in this same piano festival several years ago (a quick check shows that five long
years have past already), in a concert where he played a program predominantly of Liszt, which was memorable for his faultlessly reliable technique, that however seemed at times to be on an auto-pilot mode, with all the notes present but with the spirit of them somewhat lacking, despite a very good Légendes.
(right : the late Mr Ronald Smith)
The Beethoven variations that opened the evening was notable for a cultured, elegant touch that also informed in the two Liszt works. In the Beethoven the inherent humor and that colossal imagination came through, though delivered in a dead-pan style. In the Liszt, the quibbles that I had in the concert mentioned above were sadly replicated. The Scherzo and March is not played often due to its immense difficulty; what makes it sad is that such a phenomenal technique was not put to better use. The Weinen, Klagen variations can be full of pathos, but Mr Howard seemed intent of just delivering the notes.
As I said earlier, the Alkan Sinfonie was the program saver. Anyone who has heard the piece will know that anyone with even a vaguely suspect technique need not apply. Mr Howard has the technique required for the piece, though to tell the truth, even he didn’t get all the notes. Leslie Howard delivered a touching eulogy to Mr Smith just before the Alkan. In it he related how it was Mr Smith who had first introduced him to the work.
(below: Charles-Valentin ALKAN)
What made the Alkan special was the Mr Howard for once showed all the temperament, brilliance and gusto that was missing in the rest of the program. It was an astonishing effort, with certain passages, the whole of the last movement for example, played with such panache that you just had to admire his courage. The first movement’s brooding Romanticism was brought out very well too, though I would have preferred a more careful delineation of the second subject every time it appeared. Overall the spirit of the work was everywhere in evidence, and the finale brought the house down with cheers. It was a performance to be proud of, and I'm sure Mr Smith would have been well pleased by it.
Sometimes one takes what one gets. I was thankful for Mr Howard’s performance of the Alkan, and I don’t want to sound ungrateful by putting the rest of the night down. Still it’s plain to see that he could have done a whole lot better. For encores he played the second St. Francis Legende (a favourite of his, I surmise), and a Liszt transcription of a Chopin Polish song. Both were full of style and music, and both were beautifully done.
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2.7.2004 ©Derek Lim
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Also read Mr James Wegg's reviews of the four concerts of the Singapore International Piano Festival 2004 on his excellent website