The Center for Musical Excellence Presents Winter Benefit Concert and Silent Auction in Review

Featuring Min Kwon, Alexander Beridze, Ming Xie, Heegan Lee Shzen, Diyi Tang, Miao Hou, Sydney Lazar, Lachlan Glen, and Erickson Rojas
Steinway Hall; New York, NY
December 18, 2012
 

Min Kwon

The Center for Musical Excellence (CME) is dedicated to the ideal of helping gifted artists of all nationalities realize their potential by providing them not only with top-notch training and mentoring, but with practical assistance in areas such as housing, language, and securing necessary documents.  Originally conceived to assist pianists, CME has now branched out to also accept players of all instruments and vocalists as well. Founder, Artistic and Executive Director Min Kwon headlined a group of talented artists in a benefit concert to raise money for this fine organization.  A silent auction with a variety of items, from the expected (a private concert from Ms Kwon) to the unexpected (an opportunity to watch an open-heart surgery!) awaited the highest bidders.

Such group concerts are always great fun for the audience members, who get to enjoy a variety of talented performers in crowd-pleasing works; it is a lot more stressful for the artists, however, who have to come in “cold” and be ready to go immediately.  To be judged on a few short minutes where anything can happen can be a frightening prospect. It is also difficult for the reviewer, who must make snap judgments and avoid the temptation to compare performers. If all goes well – and it did – the festive nature of the occasion rules the day.

Min Kwon and Alexander Beridze opened the concert with Variations on a Theme of Paganini for Two Pianos by Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994). Played with panache and style, this much-loved work got the night off to a great start.  Ming Xie followed with the “Alborado del Gracioso” from Miroirs of Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). At only eighteen years of age, he played with involvement and mastery far beyond his years. This is a young man who bears watching.  Heegan Lee Shzen followed with Etude –Tableaux in E-flat Minor, Op. 39, No. 5 by Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943, not 1891-1953 as the printed program stated twice– those dates are Sergei Prokofiev’s!).  Mr. Lee did not begin serious studies until age fifteen. This late start makes his achievement all the more remarkable when one considers that most players of his caliber usually began at the age of four or five. He seemed to gain confidence as he played and finished strongly.  He is a diamond in the rough who will be a pleasure to follow.  Closing the first half, Diyi Tang treated the audience to Ce qu’a vu le Vent d’Ouest (What the West Wind Has Seen) from the Préludes, Book I from Claude Debussy (1862-1918). This virtuosic tribute to Percy Shelley’s Ode on the West Wind was played with fiery intensity – a stormy wind full of raging aggressiveness.  This I believe to be the most effective approach and not the understated interpretation that I have heard from many others.  It was an exciting close to the half.

Miao Hou joined Diyi Tang to open the second half with two selections of two-piano works. The first included “Meng Songs” and “Miao Dances” from China West Suite by Chinese composer Chen Yi (b. 1953). These two movements could be described as Béla Bartók and Prokofiev mingling with the sounds of China; the Meng Songs being poignant in simplicity and the Miao Dances infectious in their energy. The pianists then swapped pianos and offered the Valse from the Second Suite for Two Pianos of Rachmaninoff. It sparkled with optimism and brightness in the hands of these two very sensitive musicians.  The youngest performer of the evening, soprano Sydney Lazar followed. Ms. Kwon told of how Ms. Lazar won the hearts of the Viennese when she was a participant in CME’s ConcertoFest in Vienna.  Her performance of “Bel Piacere” from Rinaldo by George Frederic Handel (1685-1759) showcased her lovely voice, but it was her performance as Adele singing the “Mein Herr Marquis” aria (probably much better known as “Adele’s Laughing Song”) from Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) that made it completely obvious how she won over the Viennese.  Projected with coquettish charm, it was a winning performance from start to finish. Ms. Lazar is personality plus and should have a bright future.  Her accompanist, Lachlan Glen was a star in his own right; any singer would be happy to have him as a collaborator. Erikson Rojas followed and proved to be an impressive performer in his own right. Playing Ante el Escorial by Ernesto Lecuona (1895-1963), Mr. Rojas gave an impassioned and intensely committed performance; the intensity of his performance made me forget that I am not especially fond of this piece – no small achievement! To cap off the night, Ms. Kwon joined Mr. Rojas for Libertango of Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), played with Piazzolla’s characteristic fire.  All the performers came back for a group bow before the enthusiastic audience. Congratulations are due to all the performers and especially Ms. Kwon, whose energy and dedication has made the difference in the musical lives of so many through CME.

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The Kapell Competition in Review

The Preliminary Round is Over

The Kapell Competition’s preliminary rounds were spread over three days – the only way to hear 24 pianists play 30 minutes of repertoire each without fatalities on the jury and perhaps the audience as well.  One fact becomes immediately apparent from such an undertaking:  there are a lot of excellent young pianists around.  This should give folks like Norman Lebrecht and other predictors of the demise of classical music something to think about.  These young artists are enthusiastic champions of the art form and in terms of audience, I think people have always come to classical music later in life when they go looking for real meaning as opposed to just entertainment.  In any case, we’ll see.  Personally, I’m not too worried.

William Kapell; Photo Credit: Clarice Smith Center

Among the performers here there are several with genuine star potential, and many more with the ability to inspire others to become interested in concert music.  Some time around 4pm today the jury will announce nine semi-finalists.  It’s 2:45 now so I’m going to go out on a limb and list my choices (in the order in which they played) to advance to the next round.  Once caveat:  due to the notorious Washington Beltway traffic, as well as a certain confusion of mind as to the actual start time of Round Three, I missed Diyi Tang’s performance entirely, and I only heard Maria Sumareva’s via closed circuit TV in the lobby since I arrived after she began — clearly not the best way to make a judgement, so if either or both of them deserved to be mentioned here, I can only apologize and look forward to hearing them in the next round.

Julia Siciliano

The first name on this list is bound to be controversial.  Julia Siciliano is a consummate musician who played very beautifully… except when she didn’t.  Nemesis stalked her through the Chopin Fourth Scherzo.  Its skittering leaping chords, which appear in I don’t know how many transpositions in the course of the piece, are a memorization death trap and Ms. Siciliano fell in.  Twice.  She climbed out, however, with elegance and grace and not the slightest effect on the rest of her performance of the piece or the remainder of her program — an absolutely engrossing and flawlessly played Waldstein Sonata, the equal of any I’ve heard.  I hope the jury will cut her enough slack to continue.

Younggun Kim

Younggun Kim is indeed, as his name implies, a young gun.  He has blazing technical capacity and a lush sound supported by a natural phrasing sense and an appreciation of the differences in approach required to project the music of Haydn – a little dry for my taste, but more about that in a later post about the pianos.  Kim’s Poulenc Novelettes shimmered with beautifully balanced voicings, and Prokofiev’s war horse Seventh Sonata was spiky and rhythmically driven but still played with full, beautiful tone.

Gonzalo Paredes

Gonzalo Paredes

Chilean pianist Gonzalo Paredes began with a sprightly performance of the first movement of Haydn’s big C Major sonata (Hob. XVI:50).  When I say sprightly I really mean fast, perhaps a little too fast, but perfectly controlled and bravely pedaled according to Haydn’s long markings.  Two pieces from Bartók’s Out of Doors Suite followed.  The Night’s Music was appropriately buggy, The Chase quite spectacular.  Liszt’s Variations on a Theme of J. S. Bach had the rapt audience eating out of Paredes’ extremely capable hands.  He has more than a little of his great countryman Claudio Arrau’s depth of sound and he uses it to great effect.

Steven Lin

Steven Lin

Steven Lin  is a phenomenon.  He seems effortlessly to do things which might reasonably be assumed to be impossible.  He is surely one of the most gifted technicians around, and that includes most of the professional pianists performing today.  This is not hyperbole; you have to hear him to believe it.  His Haydn Sonata, the same C Major as Mr. Paredes’, was playful and sparkling, and Mr. Lin milked it for every opportunity to do something remarkable.  He sometimes skated close to the outer bounds of good taste, but he never really crossed it, and, it has it be said again, it really was remarkable.  He followed this with a jaw-dropping account of Liszt’s very ungrateful Don Juan Fantasy — a piece I will readily admit that I detest.  In 40 years I never heard a performance of it that sounded like anything but a confused noise from without, that is until yesterday just before 11am when Mr. Lin set everything right.  Indescribable.  And I can’t wait to hear more.

Yekwon Sunwoo

Yekwon Sunwoo

Yekwon Sunwoo gave us a clear and well proportioned version of Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 27, No. 1, the companion piece to the more famous “Moonlight” Sonata, and one of Beethoven’s loveliest.  One thing puzzles me — and I’ll admit it’s a nit-pick, but the other pianist who played this work did the same thing — and that is the unauthorized (at least by Beethoven) appearance of staccato notes in the left hand in measure 4.  OK, ok, it’s a minor thing, but it spoils the surprise when they do appear in the next measure.  Somebody should kill this before it spreads.  Ravel’s La Valse stretches anyone’s technical abilities to the limit, but it didn’t seem to disturb Mr. Sunwoo in any way.  He gave a whirling, kaleidoscopic account that never lost sight of the basic waltz rhythm.

Jee In Hwang

Jee In Hwang

Jee In Hwang produced a massive Rachmaninoff Corelli Variations, a glittlering Jeux d’eau and a solid Les Adieux Sonata, although the first movement was not improved by a tempo which strained the upper limits of musicianship.  Misha Namirovsky’s Schubert suffered from too much una corda pedal — it seems to be the fashion these days to show how softly you can play and a number of competitors are overusing it — but his Rachmaninoff, Debussy and particularly his Scriabin Fourth Sonata with its devilish Prestissimo volando were awfully good.  Jun Sun played a rather uninterested account of Haydn’s Sonata No. 33 but Godowsky’s fabulous elaboration of the Strauss waltz Wine, Women and Song had a technical command you couldn’t argue with.  The problem with the Godowsky transcriptions is that pianists nowadays take them too seriously.  There was a lot of mooning over the opening riffs and other inconsequentials.  Sometimes it is just noodling.   Guilliaume Masson is another of the una corda addicts, but his takes on Mozart, K. 330 and Liszt’s Après un lecture de Dante were highly original and, well, pretty convincing.  Canope, Debussy’s evocation of an Egyptian burial jar, was magically still and mysterious. And now, time to await the real jury’s decision.

July 12, 2012 — 2:45pm

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