New York has a new piano consortium. It is called New York Piano Festival and was founded by Alexander Beridze, a pianist eager to expand the city’s concert life. When the Bechstein Company offered him the use of the performance space in its newly established showroom, he was able to “realize his dream.” Inviting some of his friends to join him, he planned a four-concert series for June 7, 9, 12 and 14; they include a master class of his students, a recital of his own and a two-piano program with Mai Kagaya.
The Opening Concert was shared by four pianists and a tenor, all of them young, enthusiastic and very good. It began with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36 in B-flat minor, played by Ilya Kazantsev. A big, three-movement work, it could have been written only by a pianist intimately acquainted with his instrument’s technical and tonal resources and not afraid to make full use of them. Mr. Kazantsev reveled in the fireworks and the big, crashing chords with unbridled abandon. Later in the program, he had a chance to show his lyrical side in Schubert’s Sonata in A major Op. 120, but seemed less comfortable with its simple expressiveness than with Rachmaninoff’s boisterous vigor.
Tenor Theo Lebow sang the famous aria “Una furtiva lagrima” from Donizetti’s opera “L’elisir d’amore,” and five songs by Hugo Wolf on poems by Eduard Mörike. He displayed a lovely, light voice with a sweet top; the low register was somewhat dry and he tended to swell long notes. His diction in both Italian and German was excellent, and he brought out the mood and character of each song. He was empathetically partnered by Mr. Beridze, who also played a four-hand version of the Scherzo from Mendelssohn’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” with Mai Kagaya.
Finally, Ilya Yakushev played Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 7, Op. 83, a fiercely percussive piece full of banging and crashing. The slow movement, however, is beautiful, with big, sonorous chords across the keyboard ringing out like bells. Unfortunately, Mr. Yakushev played them so aggressively that they lost this magical quality. The Finale is a relentlessly driving marathon in 7/8 time.
The Bechstein Center is a welcome addition to the city’s performing venues, but it may not be wise to let exuberant, powerful pianists play very loud music on an extremely bright-sounding nine-foot concert grand in that intimate space.
