Classical Music Review: Two recitals feature young pianists

Lise de la Salle, piano
Town Hall, Manhattan
March 4, 2018

Michail Lifits, piano
Carnegie Hall Weill Recital Hall, Manhattan
March 23, 2013


Two recent NYC recitals by young pianists revealed different ways of structuring a recital, neither in the tired tradition of virtuoso barn-burning technical display. Both are competition winners yet eschewed the standard pieces that demonstrate one’s technical prowess that are often done in an initial NYC recital (e.g. Liszt B minor Sonata, Chopin Ballades, Beethoven Appassionata or Hammerklavier, etc.). Lise de la Salle is a 29-year-old French pianist who has recorded a couple Bach CDs. Her recital, blandly narrated by her from the stage, explored Bach’s influences on later composers. This could be a very fertile idea, perhaps delving into the use of counterpoint or fantasia by composers like Mozart, Mendelssohn, or yes, Beethoven or Liszt. She instead stayed more literal, choosing either direct transcriptions of Bach works (Bach/Busoni Chaconne, Bach/Kempff Sicilienne) or contrapuntal works by Liszt and Poulenc based on the four note theme B-A-C-H (H is the German name for the note B natural, B is their name for B flat). The bigger Liszt and Busoni works that dominated the program exhibited a thickening of Bach’s crystalline textures that, for me, rather spoils the effect and grows wearisome after a few minutes. I was more impressed by her sole work by Bach himself, a vibrant performance of the Italian Concerto with perfectly judged tempi and ample dance character. Sometimes it is best to stick to the real thing.

More interesting was Uzbekistan-born (b. 1982) German pianist Michail Lifits’ recital at Carnegie Hall. Lifits is one of a group of young pianists who challenges themselves with relatively unconventional repertory or pieces often associated with more mature pianists. For example, the sublime late Schubert sonatas, long and difficult to hold together structurally, were once the purview of specialists like Mitsuko Uchida or senior brahmans like Brendel and Arrau. But in the last few years I have heard some very young pianists like Benjamin Grosvenor and now Lifits tackling these to excellent effect. Lifits’ performance of the G major Sonata (D. 894, 1826) mixed flexible tempi, a wonderful singing cantible line, and pinpoint attention to inner voices that animated the piece. The first movement is over 20 minutes long in itself, yet, Lifits’ pacing and musicality during the ending movements knit the entire sonata together convincingly. In particular, his beautifully articulated ending Allegretto, which often feels like a tacked-on bauble, here felt like a convincing end to the sonata. The second half of the recital was devoted to Shostakovich’s 24 Preludes, op. 34 (1933) capped by his Prelude and Fugue in D minor, op 87 (1950). I had not heard the preludes before. Composed a la Bach in the circle of all major and minor keys, they are a product of a 27-year old composer who has already found a unique voice. The affective range of the 30 second-3 minute pieces was remarkable, varying from whimsical to virtuosic to enigmatic, much as Shostakovich’s later output was. It was a great programming choice to cap the set with the later, darker prelude and fugue, part of another complete set of 24 which deserves more performances. The longer, denser, thicker later work gave a substantive cap to the shorter set of preludes. The appreciative audience coaxed encores of a Chopin nocturne and an unnamed waltz transcription out of him. I enjoyed this recital immensely and will seek out Lifits in the future (as with Grosvenor) for additional thoughtful recitals of underexplored, non-mindless masterworks.

Performance notes: I was annoyed by the audience behavior at the Lifits recital. The Carnegie Weill recital hall is an intimate, 200-person hall with very clear acoustics, in which every sound is amplified. It is also the sort of ornate Gilded Age hall in which one expects Mrs. Astor or Vanderbilt to sit down next to you, all exhibiting impeccable etiquette. The Lifits concert was disrupted by two cellphones, one woman talking audibly during a soft prelude, and two crinkly candies being opened with interminable slowness--not what I expect in this snooty venue. The de la Salle recital was disrupted differently, this time by an over-30 minute retuning of the entire piano at intermission, as would be done at your home. The pounding on the upper notes led to a broken string, which then had to be replaced onstage (a first for me at recitals). I have recently noted more intermission retuning of pianos. Is this an affectation of young conservatory artists? Pianos are not harpsichords or violins, and hold their tuning well except in the most hot, humid conditions. In my memory, even such forceful pounders as Horowitz did not have such re-tunings done at intermission. This is a tradition that needs to be nipped in the bud! What next, tuning between each piece?