NEW YORK—On June 4, lovers of Frédéric Chopin’s music were in seventh heaven as WQXR, the No. 1 classical music station in New York City, presented an all-day marathon of his piano music in a public performance at the Greene Space in downtown Manhattan.
Hosted by WQXR’s Elliott Forrest and Terrance McKnight from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., attendees were immersed in a great quantity of Chopin’s rondos, nocturnes, scherzos, études, mazurkas, ballades, waltzes—the list goes on.
As the event was presented in 1 1/2-hour segments, one could purchase tickets for the whole day or for individual segments, at a nominal fee.
David Dubal, a distinguished pianist, author, and teacher at Juilliard and previously at the Manhattan School of Music, curated the musical selections and pianists, who numbered a total of 26. Particularly interesting was that the majority of performers were women, and most, including the men, were of Asian descent. Most were young, up-and-coming virtuosos.
I was present for the first two segments and will endeavor to relate what I saw and, most importantly, heard from the eight performers in these segments. All were remarkably technically adept. Differences lay in individual style or, in some cases, unique physical attributes. All have received major awards, concertized widely, and studied with major teachers.
In Part One, Taiwanese Ching-Yun Hu was delicate and poetic both in sound and appearance. Her touch was subtle but became powerful when required. She presented both an audial as well as visual entity, attired in a tasteful one-strap gown that bared her right shoulder and upper back to the audience. Altogether entrancing in her presentation of a rondo, nocturne, and scherzo she is the winner of several major competitions.
American Steven Beck might be considered almost a marathon in himself, performing nine études consecutively, a feat of endurance as well as of piano technique. He returned for Part Two with a prelude and three mazurkas. He has previously performed the entire Beethoven sonata cycle on WQXR and elsewhere. He is tall and might pass for an athlete, with large hands that easily rove the keyboard. He has a rather flat-fingered but effective technique.
Tall, elegant Alexandra Joan played Four Mazurkas Op. 24 with particular clarity of tone and power. Her interpretation marked a striking contrast between dissonance and consonance. And, like virtually all of the performers, she conveyed a remarkable stage presence. She is an active soloist and chamber player and has performed at major venues and festivals in Europe, Israel, and in the United States, including important venues in New York City, such as Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center.
Sophia Agranovich, who emanated maturity, confidence, and experience, easily performed the Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1 and Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major with great richness of tone. She is an internationally acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and educator. As a native of Ukraine, she won the Ukrainian Young Artists Competition at the age of 10, the youngest participant.
In Part Two, Japanese-born, Los Angeles-raised and Juilliard-trained Sachiko Kato displayed strong emotional content in her program consisting of the familiar Waltz No. 3 in A minor (“Grand Waltz Brillante”), two other waltzes, and particularly in two nocturnes, which were exquisitely played.
From Taiwan, Shih-Yi Chiang performed only one piece: Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49, but it was a tour de force. Also notable were her particularly long fingers, which even host Elliott Forrest remarked on. She currently teaches privately in Manhattan.
Yoonie Han, who knew from the age of 8 that she wanted to make performing Chopin her major career, played a mazurka and nocturne with a subtle and poetic approach. She considers Chopin to be a “pianist’s composer.”
Slight, slender Taiwanese Steven Lin immediately captured the audience’s attention with his complexly colored interpretations. He seemed to be telling a story, a drama almost, with his detailed playing of two impromptus. His physical movements also appeared to reflect his emotional states, which changed to match the piece’s emotional content. He recently performed in all three spaces at Carnegie Hall and has won several major music awards. His performance marked a fitting close for Part Two of the presentation.
Other pianists heard later in the day include David Aladashvili, Alexandra Eames, Gloria Chien, Vatche Jambazian, Daniel Hsu, Benjamin Laude, Zhenni Li, Timo Andres, Ko-Eun Yi, Kariné Poghosyan, Charlie Albright, Anna Shelest, Abdiel Vásquez, Dmitri Shelest, Vassily Primakov, Min Kwon, Liza Stepanova, and Rachel Kudo.
In sum, a marvelous program and a gift to classical music lovers, particularly lovers of the great Polish composer, Frédéric Chopin.
For streaming of the event, see thegreenespace.org
For future programs at the Greene Space, contact 866-811-4111.
Diana Barth writes of the arts for various publications, including New Millennium. She may be contacted at [email protected]
