Star Concert Productions presents Carine Gutlerner in Review
Star Concert Productions presents Carine Gutlerner
Carine Gutlerner, piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
October 27, 2016
A sizeable crowd picked its way through the chilly autumn drizzle, spirits undampened, to hear the recital by Belgian/French pianist Carine Gutlerner. Ms. Gutlerner is multi-talented not only as a pianist, but also as choral conductor, composer, and visual artist (her published book of drawings was on view in the lounge adjacent to the recital hall).
As a pianist, her recital presented many paradoxes. It is always refreshing to hear someone with a distinct, vivid, even controversial point of view, as opposed to someone comfortable in a “musical straitjacket.” However, some of Ms. Gutlerner’s virtues quickly became mannered, even working against her.
The concert opened with Ms. Gutlerner’s own composition: the American premiere of excerpts from her film music for Ann Frank’s Diary (an animated presentation aimed at children primarily). It is always risky to turn tragic events into music, as one risks merely trivializing them. That was not the case here, although the unrelieved gloom of the sections chosen shows more about our post-Holocaust response than it does about the often-optimistic teen spirit of the heroine.
After this, the program turned quite standard, with three large-scale works. The first of these was Brahms’ Third Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 5. When Brahms arrived on the Schumanns’ doorstep in 1853, he was a slender, blond twenty-year-old with a satchel full of compositions, and both Schumanns promptly fell in love with him and his music. His celebrated belly and beard came much later. It seemed that Ms. Gutlerner was relating much more to the wild, untamed passionate outpouring of youth that this work can represent. If you like your Brahms autumnal or more sober, this was not the version for you. Fiery and impetuous would be the two adjectives to reach for in characterizing her interpretation. The beautiful Andante with its poetic preface from Sternau was played much too quickly—it didn’t sound like the two hearts were united in love under the moonlight, rather that they were hurrying to catch the last tram down the mountain. The Scherzo lacked the lilting references to the Viennese waltz that underlie its demonic energy (though the Trio section was lovely), and overall it was messy. The unusual fourth movement, titled Rückblick (A Look Back), was too angry for my taste, though a case could be made for one of the former lovers from the second movement having precisely that emotion. The Finale was anything but moderato.
If Ms. Gutlerner could slightly tame her inner “wild animal” perhaps her brain would follow suit, for every work was marred by major memory issues, from which she recovered however. After all, it’s not so much what happens as how one continues. She also needs to find some tie-backs for her ample hair, which had to be continually brushed back with one of her hands. It even got in her mouth. One final complaint: the hands-in-the-air drama at the end of nearly every piece gets old fast—one per recital, please? (If that.)
After intermission, the first work was Chopin’s Second Ballade, Op. 38 in F major (though it ends in A minor). This was a sloppy performance, though the lyrical opening had great potential. Ms. Gutlerner had every reason to be rattled, because yes, a STUPID cellphone went off several times, including during the final pregnant pause before the last two chords. People who are reading this: DISCONNECT while at live performances, and tell your friends to as well. No matter how many announcements are made, it always seems to happen.
Then came the immense challenge of Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition. I thought that Ms. Gutlerner’s outsized temperament would be an asset in this sprawling and fiercely difficult work, and at times that was the case, but too often her technique was just not up to the demands of the music. Two sections that were absolutely perfect, however, were: the Promenade between Bydlo and the Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, and then the Con Mortuis in Lingua Mortua (not “Latina,” as the program stated). Otherwise, the left hand was overbearing, even bangy, an issue that threatened the earlier works on the program as well. Loud does not equal Russian authenticity. The Great Gate of Kiev was unduly hurried, lacking the majesty it needs, and her troubles seemed to multiply until she just ended the work with a few perfunctory chords.
She played another mournful section of Anne Frank as an encore.
Ms. Gutlerner could become quite a formidable interpreter if she learns to balance her natural fire with more control, even quietude—it will make the fire stand out that much more.
