Tweet
Pianist Arghamanyan shows taste and bravura at Gardner Museum
By Keith Powers
BostonClassicalReview.com
October 22, 2012
Taste and restraint are often the last things learned by some of the
younger generation of technically proficient, virtuosically inclined
musicians. But in a program of introspective contrasts, young Armenian
pianist Nareh Arghamanyan made a startling impression with her
interpretive acumen Sunday afternoon at the Isabella Stewart Gardner
Museum. Arghamanyan performed Bach, Schumann and Rachmaninov,
forswearing floor-rattling repertory for music that required delicacy
and articulated nuance.
Bach's Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826, began inauspiciously, the
opening Sinfonia sounding wooden and feeling almost sight-read. Not to
worry: Arghamanyan quickly warmed up, and the two slow sections
interspersed in the set, Allemande and Sarabande, were warmly
rendered, long, deeply voiced lines in both hands, the Allemande
especially with its melancholy tinge. The brisker movements, notably
the Rondeau and Capriccio, developed beautifully as well, but it was
the slow cantabile lines that lingered in the ear.
Schumann's Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 followed. The composer's musical
avatars, the dreamy Eusebius and the robust Florestan, take turns
occupying the musical spotlight in these eight miniatures. The works
alternate a tonal center between D flat major and F minor, and even
though they veer sharply through different moods, because of that they
have an alluring unity. Rather than creating an alternately
thoughtful, then antic dichotomy, Arghamanyan accented this unifying
thread. It worked organically, just in the way Schumann wanted
Florestan and Eusebius to represent the dual nature of one
personality, not opposing forces. A gentle slow movement, Warum?-the
essence of introspection-was sketched out beautifully, especially in
the barely audible recurring left-hand arpeggio.
Arghamanyan closed with two sets by Rachmaninoff, a trio of pieces
fromMorceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3, and the original six Etudes
tableaux, Op. 33. Of the Morceaux, the middle Prelude, featuring the
crashing, evocative chords that give it the nickname Bells of Moscow,
offered show-stopping phrasing, with almost over-the-top stuck pauses
and extravagant gestures. Arghamanyan established a singer's line
throughout the piece, which easily incorporated her fitful romantic
excesses. The sextet of studies in Op. 33 also offer contrasting
moods, but not in any predictable sequence, gradually building in
textural complexity to a heroic climax. Arghamanyan read this with
distinction as well, creating her own personal triad of works in the
center, with the Grave, Moderato and Non allegro growing in tension
and tempo, but not in
volume. By the time she let loose with the climax, marked Allegro con
fuoco, everyone was ready for a heightened, dynamic release.
Here's hoping that Arghamanyan, who lives and studies in Germany and
concertizes mainly in Europe, finds many more engagements on our side
of the pond. Arghamanyan will repeat the Bach, Schumann and
Rachmaninoff Etudes 11 a.m. Oct. 28 in the Lincoln Center Great
Performers series in New York.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Keith Powers
BostonClassicalReview.com
October 22, 2012
Taste and restraint are often the last things learned by some of the
younger generation of technically proficient, virtuosically inclined
musicians. But in a program of introspective contrasts, young Armenian
pianist Nareh Arghamanyan made a startling impression with her
interpretive acumen Sunday afternoon at the Isabella Stewart Gardner
Museum. Arghamanyan performed Bach, Schumann and Rachmaninov,
forswearing floor-rattling repertory for music that required delicacy
and articulated nuance.
Bach's Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826, began inauspiciously, the
opening Sinfonia sounding wooden and feeling almost sight-read. Not to
worry: Arghamanyan quickly warmed up, and the two slow sections
interspersed in the set, Allemande and Sarabande, were warmly
rendered, long, deeply voiced lines in both hands, the Allemande
especially with its melancholy tinge. The brisker movements, notably
the Rondeau and Capriccio, developed beautifully as well, but it was
the slow cantabile lines that lingered in the ear.
Schumann's Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 followed. The composer's musical
avatars, the dreamy Eusebius and the robust Florestan, take turns
occupying the musical spotlight in these eight miniatures. The works
alternate a tonal center between D flat major and F minor, and even
though they veer sharply through different moods, because of that they
have an alluring unity. Rather than creating an alternately
thoughtful, then antic dichotomy, Arghamanyan accented this unifying
thread. It worked organically, just in the way Schumann wanted
Florestan and Eusebius to represent the dual nature of one
personality, not opposing forces. A gentle slow movement, Warum?-the
essence of introspection-was sketched out beautifully, especially in
the barely audible recurring left-hand arpeggio.
Arghamanyan closed with two sets by Rachmaninoff, a trio of pieces
fromMorceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3, and the original six Etudes
tableaux, Op. 33. Of the Morceaux, the middle Prelude, featuring the
crashing, evocative chords that give it the nickname Bells of Moscow,
offered show-stopping phrasing, with almost over-the-top stuck pauses
and extravagant gestures. Arghamanyan established a singer's line
throughout the piece, which easily incorporated her fitful romantic
excesses. The sextet of studies in Op. 33 also offer contrasting
moods, but not in any predictable sequence, gradually building in
textural complexity to a heroic climax. Arghamanyan read this with
distinction as well, creating her own personal triad of works in the
center, with the Grave, Moderato and Non allegro growing in tension
and tempo, but not in
volume. By the time she let loose with the climax, marked Allegro con
fuoco, everyone was ready for a heightened, dynamic release.
Here's hoping that Arghamanyan, who lives and studies in Germany and
concertizes mainly in Europe, finds many more engagements on our side
of the pond. Arghamanyan will repeat the Bach, Schumann and
Rachmaninoff Etudes 11 a.m. Oct. 28 in the Lincoln Center Great
Performers series in New York.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress