A Striking Contrast

A Striking Contrast

The Warsaw Voice
October 18th, 2005
Jan Popis

   Mazurkas, a polonaise and a sonata. These include almost everything needed to provide a full picture of the skills of candidates for the Chopin Grand Prix 2005. How should one play a stylish mazurka? This is one of the challenges for everyone who wants to face the Chopin repertoire.

   When trying to discover the secrets of this mazurka style, the famous Aleksander Michałowski in the 19th century requested the elderly Duchess Marcelina Czartoryska, one of the most talented students of Chopin, to play a few mazurkas. After some balking and excusing her no longer complete piano skills, the duchess played Mazurka in D major op. 33 no. 3. Michałowski was greatly surprised to hear that the main theme was from the very beginning played heartily, without any shading. Only at the very end the last fragment sounded delicately and exquisitely, with a "caring" touch of the keyboard. When asked why she played the main theme this way, Duchess Czartoryska replied, "This is how Chopin taught me. He told me that in this mazurka, he wanted to render the contrast between 'an inn and a salon'."

   The times when the young Chopin listened to the sound of a village band at an inn are long gone. The salons are also a thing of the past, since mazurkas, and in turn Chopin's music, have entered big concert halls. How should one play Chopin's mazurkas?

   The recital of Hisako KAWAMURA turned out promising in terms of mazurkas. She played Mazurka in G Minor op. 24 no. 1 in a broad and singing phrase.

   Yusuke KIKUCHI played his program in a clearly less personal style. His mazurkas, with the one in D Major (op. 33) did not go beyond academic framework in their correctness.

   We saw more emotion and spontaneity in Mazurkas op. 59 as interpreted by Ben KIM. He was able not only to create a mood, but also maintain it--and its different shades--both in Andante Spianato and Funebre March.

   Szczepan KOŃCZAL, the first from the group of seven Polish pianists, presented his program very well, confirming his piano skills. His chamber style allows for a longer focus on the details of Chopin's notes that are most often blurred when bravado pianists play it.

   The nobility of the young talent of Jacek KORTUS is like a refreshing spring breeze. In Mazurkas op. 17, particularly in A Flat Major and A Minor, he captured the mood of the moment. This "something" that can be achieved only once and never again--at least in an identical way--and you can never come back to it. With his performance of Polonaise in A Flat Major op. 53 he demonstrated that his talent and obvious skills allow him to successfully play works of such scale as op. 53.

   The 18-year-old Naomi KUDO attracted attention with her performance of Sonata in B Minor op. 58. Her excellent piano preparation and talent were appreciated by the audience and awarded with an ovation. Kudo played the Mazurkas op. 33 with temperament directed at stressing the rhythm of the Mazovian dance.

   The style of Olga KOZLOVA, as much intriguing as controversial, will certainly add color to the list of personalities of the 15th Competition. To evaluate her as a Chopinesque performer is both very easy and very difficult.

   Of the first day of performances in the second round, it is worth noting the recital of Ka Ling Collen LEE, whose Polonaise-Fantasia demonstrated her ability to execute a form featuring such a variable scale of moods.