Classical Voice Review -Murray Perahia, Los Angeles, Oct 13, 2009

J.S. Bach:		Partita No. 6 in E minor (BWV 830)
Beethoven		Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major (Op. 109)
Schumann		Kinderszenen (Op. 15)
Chopin		Etude in A-flat major "Aeolian Harp" Mazurka in A-flat major Mazurka in C-sharp minor Mazurka in F-sharp minor Scherzo No. 4 in E major

eturning to L.A. after a five-year hiatus, pianist Murray Perahia has shown no sign of diminished powers, or his chronic thumb problem. What we heard at the Disney Concert Hall last Tuesday night was a master pianist at the full height of his powers, playing the classic works of the Western piano literature in an elegant and eloquent manner that completely belies their terrifying difficulty.

Five years on, the program contains the same Romantic bent – whether it’s Romantic composers (Schumann, Chopin) or earlier composers played in a Romantic vein (Bach, Beethoven). On the last recital, I had voiced concerns about Mr. Perahia placing early Beethoven with the Romantics. Now, the choice of Beethoven’s late Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major (Op. 109) is stylistically much closer to Mr. Perahia’s own temperaments. The first movement was launched with a sprightly tempo per Beethoven’s vivace marking, followed by a slower passage of great introspection and expressiveness. The middle prestissimo movement showcased Mr. Perahia in virtuoso passagework and the final movement elicited some exalted singing legato lines from the pianist.

In a way, the forty-minute long Partita No. 6 in E minor (BWV 830) by J.S. Bach that preceded the Beethoven was a lengthy warmup in preparation for the latter’s high poetry. Mr. Perahia deftly worked out Bach’s thorny passages and voicings with digital precision, particularly in the exhilirating sections of Corrente, Gavotte and Gigue, where the normally stoic pianist could be seen heaving and gyrating excitedly with the music in a grand manner. Even those who had harbored reservations about Bach on the modern piano would have been swept away by playing of such eloquence.

After intermission, we heard Schumann’s Kinderszenen (Op. 15) “Scenes from Childhood” and Chopin’s A-flat major Etude and three of the Mazurkas. They were smaller-scale works than the Bach and Beethoven, but received the same thoughful and elegant treatment from Mr. Perahia. The final work on the main program, Chopin’s Scherzo NO. 4 in E major, was particularly memorable for its tour de force virtuosity. Two encores – by Chopin and Brahms – concluded this most rewarding of piano recitals by Murray Perahia.

Truman C. Wang is editor of Classical Voice, whose articles have appeared in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Pasadena Star-News and other Southern California publications.