The first
thing to note about this concert is that the programme completely changed from
the time I booked the ticket (barely a month ago). Arthur Rubinstein made the
point in his autobiography that an audience is willing to accept any programme
that a pianist will play, so long as he or she is a “favourite” but god help
the pianist who changes the programme, because they will instantly feel
cheated. Well, that pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter, even though
the revised programme was one full of pieces that I love. I don’t like arriving
at a concert hall only to find out that the programme is entirely different
from the one I had paid for.
The
originally announced programme had been the following:
Isaac Albéniz
Iberia (extraits)
Enrique Granados
Goyescas (extraits)
Mili Balakirev
Une fantaisie orientale op.18
Frédéric Chopin
Fantaisie op.49
Franz Liszt
Etudes d'exécution transcendante
(extraits)
Franz Liszt / Richard Wagner
Mort
d'Isolde
This was
really mouth-watering; I am a huge fan of Spanish piano music and the
cornerstones of this repertoire are Iberia and Goyescas. I played some pieces
from Iberia myself, so it is music which is very close to my heart. Then there’s
Liszt, who is one of my all-time favourite people (not just as a composer but
as a pianist and man). I would have loved to have heard Yuja’s stunning
technique in the transcendental etudes.
When I
walked through the door of Salle Pleyel that was the programme I was expecting
to hear. However, the following is the programme that I actually heard:
Franz Schubert
"Liebesbotschaft" extrait de
Schwanengesang D 957, transcription de Franz Liszt
"Aufenthalt" extrait de
Schwanengesang D 957, transcription de Franz Liszt
"Der Müller und der Bach"
extrait de Die schöne Müllerin, transcription de Franz Liszt
Sonate D 959
Entracte
Alexander Scriabine
Prélude pour la main gauche opus 9 n° 1
Prélude op. 11 n° 8
Fantaisie op. 28
Prélude op. 37 n° 1
2 Poèmes op. 63
Sonate op. 68 n° 9 "Messe noire"
Mili
Balakirev
Islamey
(fantaisie orientale), op 18.
So the only
piece from the original programme that remained was Islamey, which is not a piece
I particularly care for. The change had apparently been published on the Salle
Pleyel website, but those of us who had already bought tickets weren’t informed
of the change. I don’t even know if it was listed in the programme (which at 10
Euros, I didn’t consider worth buying).
The Review
This was my
first time hearing Yuja in person and my first time in the Salle Pleyel. I was
seated at the back of the “Orchestre central” section, right in line with the
keyboard. A couple of seats to the right and I wouldn’t have been able to see
her hands.
The first
few pieces on the programme didn’t make much of an impression on me. Although, I
was still getting used to the acoustics, I didn’t think she was really
projecting all the way to the back of the hall. However, she really started to
reach me emotionally in the Schubert A major Sonata D 959, which is a favourite piece of mine. If I had
to describe her playing in one word it would be “controlled”. Not just in terms
of volume, but also tempo, tone colour and temperament. It really sounds like
she is able to execute her exact mental conception of a work at the piano. As
any pianist (or artist) would know this is the hardest part of the job, and the
one that makes us all sometimes cry tears of frustration and despair.
The
highlight of the first half (and the concert in general) was the slow movement
of the Schubert which was just gorgeous. Her perfect control meant that volume,
tempo and tonal ebbs and flows were all perfectly balanced and perfectly
executed. Moreover, her interpretation was very musical and displayed great
taste and thought. The audience interrupted her before the start of the scherzo
with applause that seemed to momentarily disturb her concentration (one of the
main reasons not to applaud between movements). In the final movement she got
to showcase her stunning mechanism, although it never felt like she was actively
trying to do this, instead it just sounded like the means to her musical ends.
During the
intermission, I remained in my seat in a kind of daze. I was just re-listening
to the music I’d just heard in my mind’s ear. The second half was almost as
stunning as the first. She played a variety of Scriabin, all with great taste
and superb control. The only thing I would question was her decision to leave
off the nocturne for the left hand op 9/2. I played opus 9 for my final piano
exam and I really came to see them as one piece rather than two. I think the
highlights of the Scriabin sets were the Fantasie and the Black Mass sonata.
After listening to the tonal control she displayed in the Scriabin, I would
love to hear her in Debussy. She closed the programme with Islamey, which she
gave a very musical treatment, particularly in the middle section. It is hard
for a pianist to make this piece sound like music to me, but she almost
managed. She also displayed some stunning leggiero scales just before the
return of the main theme. She did, however, do some strange things in the final
part of the piece, omitting the section with the glissando and adding
interlocking octaves to the end à la Horowitz. Puzzling. Particularly the
omission of the section which I consider to be the highlight of the piece. She
was very generous with encores, offering Schumann-Tausig Der Kondrabandiste,
Art Tatum’s Tea for Two (after Youmans), Gluck-Sgambati Melody from Orpheus and
repeating Islamey as the final encore.
Overall, I
was very impressed with the concert. I will definitely attend her future
recitals in Paris and highly recommend that anyone who has the opportunity to
hear her does so. She might be marketed like some kind of sex goddess, but this
is one young pianist worthy of her fame. There is absolutely no fakery or
exaggeration in either her playing or her demeanour at the keyboard (none of
that annoying swaying or face pulling). In fact, she struck me as more of an
introverted performer than an extroverted one, which was surprising. As a final
point, I will say that being terribly moved by what I heard, I couldn’t help
but feel sorry for myself at no longer being able to play (even if I had a
piano). Hearing her really made me miss the instrument to which I had dedicated
so much time and energy. Even if I don’t have what it takes to make a career as
a performer, I still miss being able to play the piano for myself.
