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There was an absolutely
terrific recital Sunday afternoon in the Six Continents Lounge at the
InterContinental Hotel on the campus of the Cleveland Clinic. The
three participants were energetic and enthusiastic in their
presentations, but each of them are also in possession of immense
talent, innate musicianship and great technical facility. Pianists
Grace Fong and Hong Xu plus soprano Jung Eun Oh may not yet be
household names, but they soon will be. Patrons of the recital were
made aware of that fact many times over.
Ms. Fong and Mr. Xu began the program with a
spirited performance of the 1st Movement: Allegro, from Mozart’s
Sonata for Keyboard Duet in C, K521. They sounded as though they’d
been playing together for years! Each note—from whichever end of the
keyboard—was articulated clearly, despite the awesome tempos,
especially in some of the treble parts ably executed by Mr. Xu. The
charming piece was never lacking in subtlety, either. There were ‘oh’s
and ‘ah’s from the knowledgeable audience before the hearty applause
began, a sure sign of excellence.
Jung Eun Oh then sang two arias from Mozart
operas, with sensitive accompaniment by Mr. Xu. From The Marriage of
Figaro, Susannah’s Deh vieni non tardar effectively illustrated her
wish to keep her husband’s love, while Despina’s flirtatious Una Donna
Quindia Anni from Cosí fan Tutte clearly explains what every woman
over the age of fifteen should know about being in love. They proved
to be an excellent showcase for her clear diction and inflection,
while still emphasizing the emotion of each selection.
Switching gears (metaphorically, that is) and
accompanists—Ms. Fong replacing Mr. Xu on the bench—Ms. Oh then turned
to lieder by Schubert: Seligkeit (Bliss), An die Nachtigall (The
Nightingale), Die Forelle (The Trout) and Nacht und Trume (Dreams in
the night). These four brief songs express worlds of meaning and
emotion, set to poems by different authors. Each of them were treated
as the precious entities that they are, with lyricism and musicality.
The latter was especially gorgeous, as she seemed hardly to breathe
while singing of dreams.
Ms. Fong then demonstrated her formidable technique
with three selections by Rachmaninoff:
Moment musical Op. 16 no.4 in E minor, and two
Preludes from his opus 23—no. 8 in A flat major and no. 2 in B flat
major. Rachmaninoff was gifted with extremely large hands, and never
hesitated to use this fact while composing. Not everyone can handle
these demands but they presented no barrier for Ms. Fong. She
described them briefly as dark, ethereal and heroic, and indeed they
were just that. The first is almost belligerent with its torrents of
notes, however she exhibited confidence and grace throughout. The
second was in total contrast, with gentle, rippling cascades of notes
and a hushed ending. The last piece was again the bombastic
Rachmaninoff with octaves and arpeggios throughout! None of these
works seemed to hold any terrors for the young pianist, who won the
Baroque prize in the 2005 Cleveland International Piano Competition.
After intermission, the two pianists teamed up
once again for the Opus 39 Waltzes of Brahms. This time it was Ms.
Fong with the upper voice. Although the 16 miniatures were indeed all
waltzes, they were not all danceable. They were, however, all given
their full share of wit, lyricism and emotion, including repose at the
end. It is amazing how well these two pianists performed the four-hand
literature. Awesome, in fact!
Another Nightingale this one by Stravinsky
brought Ms. Oh back again. Accompanied by Mr. Xu, she gave a beautiful
demonstration of why the Chinese emperor wanted one of these singing
birds for himself, as well as why she recently won first place in the
Leopoldskron vocal competition in Salzburg, Austria.
Mr. Xu then brought the performance to a close with a
masterful performance of Stravinsky’s
Three Movements from Petrouchka. This is an
intelligent, absolutely formidable young pianist,
who took third place in the Honen’s International Piano Competition,
held last month in Canada. When the composer arranged this suite for
the famed pianist Artur Rubenstein, it was promptly declared to be
unplayable. Not so! Mr. Xu proved conclusively that he, at least, can
indeed play it. The performance was as needed vigorous, tender and
buoyant, with magnificent attention paid to the driving rhythms and
syncopation scattered throughout. Pianos are supposed to be inanimate
objects, but I’d bet that if this one could talk, it would express
gratitude that there weren’t four movements! This performance will not
soon be forgotten by anyone who was privileged to have heard it.
The recital was preceded by Brunch at the InterContinental Hotel,
which included breakfast items as well as hot and cold entrees, and
desserts. To be informed of future such events, which create an
opportunity for young musicians to play, be heard, and get paid, in a
for-profit venue, send an e-mail to fiberart@sbcglobal.net.
-- Kelly Ferjutz |
