December 5, 2021 (live-stream)
Spivey Hall, Clayton State University, Morrow, GA
Hosted online by OurConcertsLive (available on demand through Tuesday, December 7 at 11:59pm ET)
Alexander Romanovsky, piano
Frédéric CHOPIN: Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 2
Frédéric CHOPIN: Étude, Op. 10 No. 12
Frédéric CHOPIN: Préludes, Op. 28 Nos. 4, 8, 10, 15, and 16
Frédéric CHOPIN: Ballade No. 1, Op. 23
Sergei RACHMANINOFF: Études-tableaux, Op. 39 Nos. 1 – 5
Sergei RACHMANINOFF: Sonata No. 2, Op. 36 (1931 version)
Sergei RACHMANINOFF: Prelude, Op. 23 No. 5 (encore)
Melinda Bargreen | 06 DEC 2021
After several decades as a music critic and piano fan, it is a surprise to hear for the first time a recital by major keyboard talent who has been on the world’s stages ever since 2001, when Alexander Romanovsky won first prize at the Busoni Competition.
Romanovsky’s current Chopin-Rachmaninoff recital for the excellent Spivey Hall live-streamed programming proved revelatory. Well-known and frequently played, these works (especially the Rachmaninoff) often tempt players into the “faster and louder” mode as vehicles for displaying technical prowess. Such displays are often accompanied by overuse of the sustaining pedal, which may blur the occasional keyboard error and obscure the finer points of the music.
Not this time! This is a pianist who plays even the biggest showpieces with a variety of touch and often with the most compelling transparency. Somehow he is able to create airspace even in the big-moment, thunderous passages. It’s not just his judicious use of the pedal; it’s the clarity of his technique that may make the listener sit up and hear passages that are seldom articulated quite so cleanly.
In a brief pre-performance talk, Romanovsky explained the advantages of a live-streamed recital (“With the camera, you can come closer … like a recital for a circle of friends when this music was played in salons”). He discussed his choice to pair Chopin and Rachmaninoff by bringing out their similarities: the power in Chopin and the lyricism in Rachmaninoff.
A Chopin set opened the recital, traversing works that pianists and keyboard fans know well. The familiar Nocturne in E-Flat Major emerged with a lovely, hesitant delicacy that was underscored by expert, subtle pedaling. In this performance, and the works that followed, the biggest surprise for the listener was the spacious quality of the Etudes and Preludes, with a clean technique and a sparing use of the sustaining pedal. There was no sense of a pianist “making his mark” on the music; the music was allowed to breathe and flow. Chopin’s familiar “Raindrop” Prelude was full of contrasts: passages of refinement and delicacy set off by a “storm” of surprising power. The emotional content of the Chopin section was evident in every line; nothing sounded routine.
Best of all among the Chopin selections was the Ballade No. 1, Op., 23, played with an introspective, meditative lyricism as well as the appropriate bravura. Romanovsky made the most of the singing melodies, and in the speedier passages, every note was clear, yet the overall impression was smoothly legato. The pianist took plenty of time with the ending of the Ballade, adding to the impact of this musical journey. It was a distinctive reading but never a merely idiosyncratic one.
Rachmaninoff’s Etudes-Tableaux are among the great showpieces of the keyboard repertoire. As Romanovsky noted in his spoken introduction to the works, they require considerable virtuosity of the pianist. This recital included the Etudes-Tableaux Nos. 1-5 of Op. 39, works that the pianist called “landmark pieces” in his pre-performance talk.
“Rachmaninoff didn’t like to talk about what was in his mind when he composed these pieces,” he observed. “But this incredibly diverse and speaking music tells us.”
This performance also tells us a lot about the pianist, whose extremes of dexterity and emotional range illuminate the imposing scale of the Etudes-Tableaux. His very mobile face, often gazing upward and often apparently singing along, reflects the mood of each piece. Each is strongly characterized: thoughtful, whimsical, reflective, assertive, full of telling little touches. Among the most interesting of the five was the less-often played No. 2, an introspective journey over a mostly dreamlike landscape, with an ending of refined delicacy. The most impressive was No. 5, surging and romantic with a strong melodic content and the overall character of a virtuoso showpiece.
Finally, there was the Rachmaninoff Second Piano Sonata in B-Flat Minor, a work of which the performer announced, “I love it so much. This sonata is incredible for its concentration of expressive forces … Every time I play this second movement, I am really conquered by this simple yet so true and touching music.”
The performance was full of illuminating interior details – not just a wall of sound, but clarity of articulation. Every melody was given its expressive due. The enormous technical requirements of the score were fully met, and even in the speediest passages of the final movement there was the sense of space between the notes – no passages glued together by the sustaining pedal, just crisp, honest arpeggios and declarative passages.
Romanovsky offered a single encore, Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor (Op. 23, No. 5).
A note about the filming: The production team evidently favored a “high concept” plan in which the pianist and his instrument were mostly shrouded in darkness. Romanovsky’s face was usually visible, except when he moved from side to side out of a narrow spotlight. The keyboard was almost impossible to see, except for a side view of the piano with the artist’s right hand (but not much more) visible to the audience. With so many alternatives available to today’s filmmakers, these choices were disappointing. ■
Melinda Bargreen is a Seattle-based composer and music journalist who has been writing for the Seattle Times and other publications for four decades. Her 2015 book, Classical Seattle is published by University of Washington Press. Her 50 Years of Seattle Opera was published by Marquand Books in 2014.
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