Thai Talent Krerksakul Jaree Plays Rachmaninoff

Thai pianist Krerksakul Jaree greets his fans following his splendid performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.

Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra.  Music Auditorium Mahidol College of Music.  Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.  July 20, 2013.  I never tire of hearing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, the apex of the romantic concerto utilizing all the resources of the modern grand piano and large orchestra.  What came as a welcomed surprise was how very, very well young Thai pianist Krerksakul Jaree played this concert staple, a performance that would have been at home in any concert hall anywhere in the world.  It was mature, yet sensitive, beyond his years.  That his superb playing of the Rachmaninoff was not a quirk, was amply shown by his encore, Liszt’s transcription from Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde, one of those dreadful Liszt bombasts that Jaree, to his immense credit, actually made to sound beautiful.  This is a pianist whom I would like to hear a lot more.  The concert concluded with the TPO’s playing of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2, a performance that fit well into the TPO’s mold of being Thailand’s best orchestra.