Feast of Music

Larry Weng Plays Charles Ives and Maurice Ravel at SubCulture

by Nick Stubblefield

Award-winning pianist Larry Weng performed a brilliant set Thursday night at SubCulture, which has quickly become one of the hottest - and my favorite - places to hear music in the city, thanks to great acoustics, a cozy atmosphere, and a quality Steinway piano. The show opened with a short piece by Horatio Parker: an American composer and a mentor to Charles Ives at Yale. The piece, La Sauterelle, had a playful, bouncy rhythm to it, with some great jazzy runs in the right hand. Composed in 1899, it had the sound of something that might be played in a wealthy man's parlor room. 

La Sauterelle proved to be a great lead-in for the surprise-hit of the evening: Charles Ives' Piano Sonata No. 1. When I listen to music, I often find that my brain conjures various images and emotions. Ives' music almost does the opposite -- it sets up images that you might expect, then smashes them right as they begin to form. Weng's handling of the complex musical structures was magnificent. Not only did he handle the many technical challenges with grace, but he brought artistry and emotion to the themes, making it look like a whole lot of fun in the process. 

Next were Maurice Ravel's beautiful Sonatine and Miroirs, which Weng played with a light, refined touch. In contrast to Ives, Ravel's music conjures strong, defined images. In particular, the third movement of the Sonatine, "Animé," was brilliantly executed: it's lightning fast and dense at times, but Weng played it cleanly and with great dynamic range.

Weng graced us with an encore, but rather than play something showy, he played Claude Debussy's La plus que lente: a delicate, atmospheric work which left me in a very pleasant and reflective mood. There's no better way to end your Thursday night. 

New York Philharmonic and Daniil Trifonov Perform All-Russian Program

by Nick Stubblefield

New York Philharmonic with pianist Daniil Trifonov at Avery Fisher Hall

The words "prodigy" and "virtuoso" get thrown around a lot, so when I arrived at Avery Fisher Hall last week to hear one of Russia's newest piano stars, Daniil Trifonov, perform with the New York Philharmonic, I promised myself I would keep my expectations in check. Still, it was hard not to be impressed by the young pianist: Trifonov won first prize at both the Tchaikovsky and Rubenstein Piano Competitions, and in 2014 alone performed no fewer than 135 concerts. 

The concert - an all-Russian program led by Juanjo Mena, chief conductor of the BBC Philharmonic - began with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34: a lively, bouncy five-movement piece based on Spanish folk melodies. I loved the heavy use of percussion: the tambourine player, in particular, gets a real work-out throughout. Alternating solos - particularly between the clarinets and strings - underlined the folksy qualities in the piece. 

Next, Trifonov took the stage to perform Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1. The piece starts with a ferocious series of chords that cascade down the keyboard, grabbing the listener by the collar. Trifonov played with his full body, drawing a monstrous sound from the piano. His back was hunched over, almost cat-like, his face nearly brushing the keys. It was not Trifonov's passionate energy, however, that impressed me the most. His playing could also be sublimely graceful and light when called for, not to mention flawlessly clean. Trifonov did not disappoint: he deserves every ounce of recognition he has received. 

tears become... streams become... at the Park Avenue Armory

Over the past seven years, the Park Avenue Armory has hosted an impressive series of musical events and art installations. But, none of these presentations has sought to merge the worlds of art and music until Douglas Gordon's current installation, tears become... streams become..., which runs at the Armory through January 4. Gordon floods the cavernous Wade Thompson Drill Hall with water, and places in the center two pianos. One is an vintage player piano which plays throughout the day. The other is a Steinway grand, which is played each night by celebrated concert pianist Hélène Grimaud, who has chosen a program of "water-themed" works by Liszt, Debussy, Ravel and others.

At the press preview I attended on December 8, Gordon was still working out the lighting cues, illuminating various parts of the Drill Hall in plain white light. Grimaud's playing was expectedly entrancing, though came out sounding pretty muddy in the capacious space. In a roundtable discussion afterwards with Armory Artistic Director Alex Poots, Gordon was vague as to the precise meaning of tears become...streams become... other than to say: "When I first saw the space, I wanted to piss on it. I wanted to take the fluid out of here (pointing to his pelvis) and put it into here (pointing to his arms)." Well, ok.

The installation is open through January 4; the final performances with Grimaud are tonight and tomorrow night. Additional info here.

 

Christmas Time

John Scott and the Boys of St. Thomas Choir performing their annual concert of Benjamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols and John Rutter's Dancing Day last night at St. Thomas Church on 5th Avenue. More pics on the photo page.