The Edward J. Emerson Arts Foundation presents Daniel Adam Maltz in Review
Daniel Adam Maltz, piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall: New York, NY
October 23, 2016
Those acquainted with my reviewing style know how earnestly I try to nurture artists—that there are always positive things to be observed. That being said, a few dozen people, mainly family and friends, turned out for Mr. Maltz’ recital, which is probably a good thing, for it was not quite “ready for prime time.” I suspect there’s a great deal of poetry and musical creativity lurking in this young man, but his pianism isn’t fully formed enough or consistent enough to allow him to express it unblemished by memory lapses, wrong notes, notes that don’t sound, thin tone, and a lack of deep-in-the-keys finger legato. He did retain his composure, however, and that in itself is admirable.
His stage presence is stiff, though I did appreciate that he wore white-tie-and-tails, which isn’t seen so much anymore.
His opening group, Schumann’s lovely Kinderszenen, had the above-mentioned flaws from beginning to end. I couldn’t tell if it was opening jitters, but things didn’t really improve. This is not music “for” children, but rather about childhood viewed through the poetic prism of the adult. The composer was only six years older than Mr. Maltz when he wrote it.
Chopin’s Second Impromptu, Op. 36 in F-sharp major followed, and pleasingly, there was light and brilliant jeu perlé fingerwork in the thirty-second note section just before the end (so difficult to do!), though this impressive bit was undercut by wayward phrasing. Elsewhere, the piece suffered from eccentric rhythmic disruption and lack of legato. Mr. Maltz followed this with Chopin’s Third Ballade, Op. 47 in A-flat major. Again, the numerous slips and eccentricities marred what I’m sure could have been a probing account of this once-ubiquitous work.
After intermission came the D minor Fantasy of Mozart, K. 397, a work that comes as close as any to what listening to Mozart improvise may have been like. The D major concluding portion was tacked on at a later date, and I’ve never felt like it really “belongs” there. Mr. Maltz had much delicacy, and caught the questing, improvisatory spirit well, although again, with a deeper legato and better phrasing, he could have said more with these deceptively few notes.
In conclusion, he offered the Beethoven Bagatelles, Op. 126, Beethoven’s final works for piano solo. These “trifles” are anything but—in them Beethoven seemingly engages in dialog with the cosmos and the creation of new ideas of aural “space.” Here, Mr. Maltz was at his very best, he seemed unified with the music, the composer, himself, and the instrument. He sank deeply into the keys for the most satisfying tone of the evening. Here, his personality really emerged, and I could see what he might become in a few years. (He is only twenty-two, after all.)
His biography says he is a champion of the music of his father, Richard Maltz, a composer. It would have been stimulating to have included some of that, rather than one of the more standard works. I do hope he won’t let himself be discouraged by my response to this one performance. What is important is to keep going, and to keep learning.
