September 18, 2021
Candler Concert Series
Emerson Hall, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Atlanta, GA
R. SCHUMANN: Arabeske in C major, Op. 18
R. SCHUMANN: Fantasie in C major, Op. 17
LISZT: Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178
Mark Gresham | 22 SEP 2021
The Schwartz Center for Performing Arts opened their 2021-22 Candler Concert Series this past Saturday with a solo recital by pianist George Li.
Li made his live Atlanta debut with this performance. He made his virtual Atlanta debut in March, only six months earlier, which was presented online by Spivey Hall due to limitations imposed by COVID-19. The recent easing of restrictions made Saturday’s live concert possible, with suitable health safety protocols remaining in place.
The program consisted of three substantial, closely connected Romantic works by Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt.
For the recital’s first half, Li performed Schumann’s Arabeske in C major, Op. 18 (1839) followed by the Fantasie in C major, Op. 17 (1836, revised 1839).
In December of 1835, 25-year-old Robert Schumann and 15-year-old Clara Wieck declared their mutual love in Zwickau, where Clara was concertizing as a piano prodigy. Her father discovered the affair and objected, summarily forbidding them from meeting further. Despite the obstacles posed, including an acrimonious legal battle with Mr. Wieck, Robert and Clara married in September 1840, one day before her 21st birthday.
In between, Schumann composed a handful of significant piano works. Among them were Davidsbündlertänze (1837), Fantasiestücke (1837), Kinderszenen (1838), Kreisleriana (1838), as well as the Arabeske (and its revision) and the Fantasie.
The Arabeske is the more directly enchanting one, the poetic miniature at about eight minutes versus the half-hour duration of the Fantasie. Still, like the composer himself, both works oscillate between the Romantic polarities of elation and despair.
At 26 years old, Li is the same age Schumann was when he wrote the Fantasie. In theory, that should de facto give Li a similar youthful perspective as the composer, without Schumann’s emotional vicissitudes. That seemed to play out in Li’s performance: expressive in a very personal way but more reserved than suggested by the quirky extremes of the problematic genius.
The Fantasie is one of the most significant solo piano works of the early Romantic period. Upon its publication, Schumann dedicated the Fantasie to Franz Liszt, making it logical that Li would also play some Liszt on the program after intermission.
Li chose Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178 (1853), which Liszt reciprocally dedicated to Schumann. While it made for a great pairing with Schumann’s music, it’s the very same piece he played for the second half of the virtual Spivey Hall concert in March, where he paired it with Beethoven’s Variations and Fugue in E♭ major. That in itself felt disappointing, despite the clever programming match, as we missed the opportunity to hear something new from Li. The performance itself, although somewhat reserved, did not disappoint.
Li’s career has certainly been accelerating since his silver medal win at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition. Earlier this year, he also earned his Artist Diploma from New England Conservatory, in the studio of Wha Kyung Byun. Worth noting that this program heard at the Schwartz Center on Saturday is identical to what Li played in April at Jordan Hall in the course of completing those studies. Li will perform it several more times on the west coast in early 2022, adding “Moments” by composer Qigang Chen to the Schumann and Liszt. ■
Mark Gresham is publisher and principal writer of EarRelevant. he began writing as a music journalist over 30 years ago, but has been a composer of music much longer than that. He was the winner of an ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award for music journalism in 2003.
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