16th Singapore International Piano Festival

16th Singapore International Piano Festival

Singapore June 25-28, 2009

Day 1 June 25, 2009

Vladimir Feltsman

Vladimir Feltsman comes to the 16th Annual International Piano Festival with a big reputation. If anyone was wondering whether it is deserved, last night’s exquisite recital should satisfy them of the bona fides. This was the third time I’ve heard Feltsman, and each time my appreciation of his artistry increases.

Feltsman’s playing of Bach’s Partita No. 1 would not satisfy the purists or the original instrument crowd. Feltsman took advantage of the subtlety of the piano and its coloring capabilities. He threw in a little rubato from time to time, and before you knew it, we were listening to a mildly romanticized Bach, played with a vision which was never to excess and was totally musical (I don’t think that Feltsman is capable of playing anything unmusical or in bad taste). His Bach reminded me of the splendid Pletnev 2-CD Virgin set of Scarlatti sonatas, and maybe it’s no coincidence that both Feltsman and Pletnev were brought up by the piano faculty of the Moscow Conservatory.

Three Chopin works completed the first half of the program: Polonaises No. 1 & 2 of opus 26, and Ballade No. 3. The two polonaises are among my favorites on the old Rubinstein disc I own, and Feltsman must honor them similarly. Feltsman’s gorgeous sound, reminiscent (dare I say it?)20of Rubinstein, was the connection his playing made for me. The Ballade No. 3 was as well-played as I can remember of the numerous performances of this work I’ve attended. Feltsman’s playing of Chopin was far removed from his Bach, but that’s what a great artist does: he refuses to be pigeonholed and is as at home in the baroque as he is with the romantics or the moderns.

I was not looking forward to hearing Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, not because I dislike the work, I don’t, but only because I’ve heard it played three times previously in the past year or so. In fact, I’m quite sure that I heard Feltsman play Pictures at Aspen some 10-15 years ago, and I know that he performs this work frequently. He started the first Promenade fast and loud and never let up. Yes, it was an exciting and technically flawless performance, but more than that, it was interesting, which is not something that is easy to achieve with a work so frequently played. I was never quite sure what was coming next, but I was never disappointed. I think that the reason for this is that Feltsman is spontaneous; I think he takes chances and I’m sure that sometimes they don’t work out for him, but last night was not one of those times.

Feltsman’s first encore, played in response to a huge audience response, was a quiet and haunting transcription by Alexander Siloti of a Bach prelude, which I had never heard before, although someplace in my defective memory bank is a hazy recollection that I might have heard Gilels play it as an encore, and finally, a Chopin waltz. The audience reluctantly left the hall only after Feltsman signaled that he was saying goodnight. I think that if the Singapore Festival programmed Feltsman for the following three festival nights, it would have had no trouble in bringing back the nearly full house.

Tomorrow: Nikolai Demidenko

P.S.: My thanks to Dr. Chang Tou Liang, the former director of the festival for identifying the Bach encore for me.

Singapore International Piano Festival Day 2--June 26, 2009

Nikolai Demidenko

Nikolai Demidenko is a big man, who strolls onto the stage almost nonchalantly, sits himself quickly in front of the big Steinway, and starts playing with the same effort he might expend in eating breakfast. The reason for his self-assuredness is quickly apparent: he's a master pianist at the top of his form. His solemn physical demeanor hinted at his concept of Chopin's 24 preludes as deep, quiet, and having an overall unitary design, rather than being individual short pieces each with their own personality. But, they were so beautifully played that the lack of variety in mood, and the subtlety of his coloring produced the effect I'm sure he wanted to project. Absent was any hint of manufactured sensitivity or self-indulgence; we listened to Chopin, not to Demidenko. Demidenko appeared to be in a trance, and he was inviting the audience to join him, which I did.

Having established himself as a player of subtle beauty during the first half, Demidenko turned to piano playing in the grand manor with Schumann's Carni val of Vienna and Carnaval. How generous it was of him to give us both substantial works back-to-back. Anyone who thinks that Schumann is for the drawing room or is pretty music, needs to hear Demidenko’s robust rendition of these two works. It's not just that he plays fast and loud---he plays big. This is the tradition that I associate with the Russians and, quite frankly, I love it.

Responding to thunderous applause from the full house, Demidenko gave us three Chopin encores, which, after an extremely long and arduous program, were still played as beautifully and with a freshness as if they were the works beginning his program. I don't think that Demidenko ever tires, and I know that his audience at the Victoria Concert Hall didn't tire either.

Tomorrow: Pascal Rogge and his wife Ami Rogge

P.S.: My thanks again to Dr. Chang for helping me identify the encores. His knowledge of the piano repertory is limitless.

Singapore International Piano Festival Day 3--June 27, 2009

Pascal and Ami Roge

Pascal Roge is a well-known exponent of the French piano repertory (I have sever al of his CDs), and in the third event of this year’s Singapore International Piano Festival, he played, well, he played very French. This does not mean that he played only French works. Rather, it defines his style and approach.

The first half of the evening was taken up by 15 short works of Debussy, Faure, Poulenc and Chopin, arranged into three groups of nocturnes, preludes and etudes, with each group containing works of two composers. (Go to www.pianofestival.com sg to view the program). This type of programming can be pedantic: Roge wants us to see how different composers treat the same genre, but who wants to be lectured to at a recital (Jeffrey Segal's keyboard conversations being an exception)? Because he wants us to view his 15 selections as a whole, he asked the audience to refrain from applause until the end so as not to break the mood. However, he need not have bothered since half way through, cannons or fireworks from the nearby military practice for Singapore’s national day celebrations, were far more disturbing than heartfelt applause could have been. Roge plays well, indeed sensitively and idiomatically, but I just wasn’t in the mood to receive what he had to offer. Feltsman and Demidenko were still ringing in my ears, and the expectation of hearing Yevgeny Subdin on Sunday, turned off my usually open receptors.

The second half of the program was devoted to two works for piano four hands, with Pascal Roget's very pretty and charming young wife (he’s 57-years of age) playing second fiddle. Ami Roget is a Japanese-Indonesian (whatever that means) and they were married only a year ago in a traditional ceremony in Japan. The newly-weds walked on and off the stage holding hands and traded adoring looks throughout. In an interview, Pascal explained that piano four hands required an intimacy not needed with two piano works. Frankly, I wasn’t interested. I remember a performance I attended many years ago of the same Schubert Fantasia in f minor performed by Claude Frank and his late wife Lillian Kallir, both renowned performers in their own right, who played very seldom together. There, the audience was invited to love the music alone. Okay, call me a scrooge if you will. At any rate, the audience adored the couple as much as they adored themselves, so I’m sure that the evening was a glowing celebration, even if the music had to take second chair. The four-hand stint was ended with a performance of Ravel’s Rapsodie espangnole and two light encores.

Tomorrow: Yevgeny Sudbin

Singapore Piano Festival Day 4--June 28, 2009

Yevgeny Sudbin

Yevgeny Sudbin is somewhat of an oddity today---a widely-feted young pianist (29-years of age) who has achieved acclaim without winning a major piano competition. After attending his inspiring recital last night, the last event of this year's Singapore International Piano Festival, it is easy to see how he has accomplished this—with exceptional playing of extraordinary beauty. Born in St. Petersburg, but now residing in London, Sudbin seems to have sprung from nowhere in 2005 with his BIS CD of Scarlatti sonatas, which I purchased at the time because of what seemed like universal critical gushing and because of my dislike of being left out of a trend. How reckless of him, I thought, to make his debut recording in an area inhabited by such great Scarlatti interpreters as Pletnev and Horowitz. I needn't have worried. Sudbin's artistry was quickly recognized.

Here's Sudbin's Singapore Piano Festival Program:

SCARLATTI: Sonata in G major, K.455 Sonata in F minor, K.466

HAYDN: Sonata in E minor XVI:34

CHOPIN: 4 Mazurkas, No. 3 in F minor, Op. 7, No. 4 in B-flat minor, Op. 24,

No. 2 in D major, Op. 33, No. 4 in B minor, Op. 33

MEDTNER: Fairy Tales

PROKOFIEV: Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83

Without commenting on each work (I'll spare you my effusiveness), individually and collectively this was an evening of superior piano playing, as good as any that the best pianists produce. Sudbin has the potential of being one of the great piano artists of this century. I'm too old to ever know if he will fulfill this potential, but I wish him luck.

Post Script: I have Subdin's Scarlatti disc, and I've ordered his Scriabin disc. He's just signed a 7-year 14-disc recording contract with BIS. It will be interesting to see what works he selects to record. I predict that Prokofiev's Sonata No. 7 will be among them. At any rate, I'll buy each recording as soon as it's issued. BIS is producing great recorded sound these days.