Pianists Nana Miyoshi, Maxine Park, Crystal Chen, Andy Liao, and Rixiang Huang
Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
May 19, 2019
Two large Weill Hall recitals were presented this Sunday to feature winners of the 2019 Alexander and Buono Competitions (alexanderbuono.com), the first featuring winners of the Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition (covered in a separate review) and the second, covered here, featuring the winners of the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition (named for the two-piano team of Cosmo Buono and the late David Bradshaw). Messrs. Buono and Alexander were present to get the evening started with a few words, after which five excellent prizewinners took turns onstage, three before intermission and two after. Their prize categories were Elementary School (ages 4-11), Middle School (12-14), High School (15-18), Amateur Adults, and College/Adults.
The youngest category’s winner, Nana Miyoshi, opened the program with Mozart’s Sonata in F Major, K. 332. While one regularly hears very young pianists play selected movements of Mozart Sonatas, it is less common to hear one in its entirety, due to the required concentration and tonal control, especially for an inner slow movement. Ms. Miyoshi played the entire work with a poise and polish that belied her young years – and it was no small feat just to walk onto the stage of this storied hall and be the first performer of five. (For an excellent description of the rigors of such group recitals, one recommends once again the following review by Alexandra Eames: (Rutgers Pianists in Review)
As one expects of a prizewinner, Ms. Miyoshi was technically reliable in realizing Mozart’s score, but she also showed the beginnings of deeper interpretation of it, particularly in her first movement. The first dramatic C-sharp heralding the move to D minor was full of the operatic intensity one often wishes that more adult performers would project. Moments in the second movement were a bit romanticized for this listener (including generously rolled chords and instances of the left hand preceding right), but all in all the lyricism was quite appealing. With time, this young pianist will gain the ability to gauge the tone of longer note values so that they can last and connect ever more smoothly to subsequent tones, but again the phrasing was generally quite graceful for one so young. The last movement showcased Ms. Miyoshi’s impressively sparkling passagework, with only some telltale rushing reflecting her youth and the excitement of the day.
The second performer was Maxine Park, age fourteen, who played Bach and Chopin. First came five movements from Bach’s Partita No. 2 in C minor (sadly omitting just the Courante). Ms. Park showed outstanding decisiveness from the first notes of the Sinfonia, delivering the double-dotted rhythms with crispness and confidence. Though this reviewer felt there could be more nuance even within the French Overture spirit, such preferences are personal – and again one reminds oneself that this performer is younger than the coats in this reviewer’s closet! Ms. Park sailed through this work’s brisk dance movements with assuredness, and slower sections were thoughtfully rendered. All movements were played with no repeats, except in the Sarabande, which enjoyed some tasteful elaborations on the second iteration. The final Capriccio was wonderfully precise in its leaping tenths, showing excellent pianism, rhythm, and ebullience.
Moving on to Chopin’s Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 (just the first movement), Ms. Park showed her interpretive potential in a more Romantic vein, making good sense of a movement many consider unwieldy. It is a bit surprising to hear such a young player take on such a mature work even in these days of prodigies abounding, but Ms. Park did so with admirable projection of the varying moods and skillful transitions throughout. Despite a small misfire in the early measures – something one has heard from numerous seasoned professionals – it was clear that Ms. Park has the technique and temperament to be a strong interpreter one day, if she chooses to be. One can expect great achievements from her as she continues to develop.
Still within the category of pre-college years (now high school) was Crystal Chen, age sixteen, playing selections by Beethoven, Liszt, and Bartok. She started with the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata in C major, Op. 2, No. 3, in which she made short work of the challenges, from its tricky opening thirds to heraldic broken octaves, all with hearty Beethovenian spirit. As with Ms. Park’s single movement of the Chopin, one was reminded that we were in effect hearing an encore of a typical prize-winning audition, rather than a preview of the concerts these young pianists may give one day as full-fledged soloists, but audience members who liked what they heard will simply have to stay tuned for what is to come.
Ms. Chen followed her Beethoven with a fierce performance of Liszt’s La Campanella from the Grandes Études de Paganini. La Campanella can fall somewhere between target practice and a kamikaze mission, so those who choose to perform it live – and at such an important occasion, with little warming up and much unpredictability – deserve kudos for bravery alone. Ms. Chen was more than up to the task, though, and if it was not exactly a model of neatness, it certainly whipped up a huge lather towards the end, lifting her practically off the bench in the pursuit of a big sound – which she did indeed achieve. The audience was thrilled. She closed the first half with a bristling account of the first movement of Bartók’s Piano Sonata, another bold choice showing her power and potential.
Interestingly enough, some of the most satisfying music-making of the evening came through the hands of Andy Liao, from the so-called “Amateur” category, though if he is called amateur, then heaven help the professionals! Mr. Liao offered just one complete piece, Ginastera’s demanding Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 22. He gave it a great ride, with a wide dynamic and emotional range and plenty of technique for its tremendous pianistic demands. From the declamatory opening through the smoldering presto misterioso and ensuing Adagio, one felt that there was no note without intent. The Ruvido final movement had just the right driving energy, stirring the audience to a rousing ovation. This piece has had many passionate champions – the name Terrence Judd springs to mind as a favorite – but Mr. Liao now holds a place among them. Bravo!
The final performer, Rixiang Huang, faced quite a difficult task in following so much extraordinary piano music – and in a recital starting at 6:30pm his own offerings finished close to 9pm. As Mr. Huang won in the College/Adult category, it was natural that the presenters wanted to feature him as the concert’s grand finale – and in a wide spectrum of repertoire – but somewhere along the way, the notion of strain on the audience was lost. Though there were some audience members who came and left, present especially to hear their friend or relative, the listener who is present from start to finish ought to be considered as well. Even the hardiest music-lovers reach a point of aural saturation. By the time Mr. Huang walked onto the stage, this listener was ready to hear perhaps one more small piece but probably not another miniature recital. Such matters should be considered, lest the presenters do their winners a disservice.
Despite the above mentioned issues, Mr. Huang appeared unfazed as he calmly wiped the piano keys before his own long segment of the program. His confidence, as one discovered, was well justified, as this young man knows how to play! Currently a Master of Music degree candidate at Juilliard studying with Matti Raekallio and Jerome Lowenthal, Mr. Huang offered a mini-recital made up of Haydn’s Sonata in E minor Hob XVI.34, Beethoven’s Sonata in F-sharp major, Op. 78, Los Requiebros from Goyescas by Granados, and, to cap the evening off, Liszt’s Dante Sonata.
The Haydn could have easily been omitted, as it did not seem to show qualities unique to Mr. Huang and was challenging to listen to with fresh ears after the Ginastera; that said, Mr. Huang gave it good attention to detail, in particular the slow movement which reflected well the improvisatory style associated with C. P. E. Bach whom Haydn highly respected. Repeats were omitted, except in the last movement.
The Beethoven that followed, the two-movement Op. 78, was a refreshing choice, as it is often bypassed in favor of the more dramatic Sonatas Opp. 53, 57, 110, and others, though it is a beautiful and ingenious work. Mr. Huang played it commendably, with sensitivity in its lyrical opening and great care in the details of articulation and dynamics in its later flights.
Still more lyrical was Los Requiebros, and there was a suavity about this performance that was just right. Mr. Huang seemed to feel quite at home with this Spanish style of musical dreaming, and it was a good bridge into the Romanticism that followed in the form of Liszt’s Dante Sonata, properly named Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata from the Années de Pèlerinage, V. II. Here, in the Liszt, came the style of virtuosity for which Mr. Huang stood out the most. The Dante Sonata is notorious for its ferocious octave demands. In this reviewer’s conservatory years, a dear class clown when offended would issue mock threats to play “Dante Sonata on your head” – and in all seriousness, it is that fiendish; in Mr. Huang’s hands, however, it was child’s play. Moreover, the music always came across, never devolving into mere noise. Mr. Huang moved easily from the softest tremolos to superb arpeggiated elaborations and, yes, torrents of octaves (and he may have broken speed records in some of those torrents!). He was, in a word, superb.
All in all, it was an auspicious evening for five highly promising pianists. One hopes to hear more from all of them in the future. Congratulations to all.
by Rorianne Schrade for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
