Kudo shows why she's Gilmore Young ArtistKalamazoo Gazette
April 29th, 2008
C.J. Gianakaris
Though first performing here last fall in the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival's Rising Stars Series, Naomi Kudo had the Stetson Chapel stage to herself Monday afternoon as full-fledged 2008 Gilmore Young Artist.
The Gilmore's choice is justified, because Juilliard student Kudo -- just 20 years old -- is an ideal Young Artist, offering an impressive recital.
Four major composers from different eras were represented in her demanding program. In each instance, she probed the work exhaustively to locate its musical center. Then, by virtue of superb technical agility, she conveyed her findings to the audience.
J. S. Bach's eight-part Overture in the French Style in M Minor, BWV 83, opened, immediately displaying Kudo's enviable clarity. The tonal effect of the movement was that of a broadly-strummed instrument, contrasted with brittle embellished trills and ornamentation. The remaining movements, echoing popular dances from Baroque suites, varied widely, permitting her to exhibit a range of textures. Her vigorous playing of "Gigue" indicated firmness that contrasted strikingly with the gentler, caressing quality in "Bourree." Always noticeable was an unbroken circuit of melodic line, regardless of any other musical proceedings.
Kudo followed preclassical sounds of Bach with a standout performance of a contemporary piece, Piano Sonata No. 1 (1990) by Australian composer Carl Vine. This was a daring choice on Kudo's part, because abrasive dissonance often surged through its two movements. Yet the intelligence of her reading lent welcome reasonableness to surface chaos. Through fine pedaling and note emphases, she underscored the crucial motif of tolling bells in the first section -- even as glissandos whirled past and deep bass notes were pounded. Vine's is a dense score that only a highly proficient pianist such as Kudo could make sense of.
Kudo used a fine keyboard touch to enunciate (musically) the swelling melodies in Ravel's "Sonatine." The ravishing harmonies were transmitted through her undeniable technique to produce very agreeable music.
The largest portion of her program was given over to Schumann's familiar Carnaval, Op. 9. As usual in Schumann, this set of 21 brief musical portraits and dances reflected autobiographical sources. For listeners, however, only the sheer joy and playfulness of the separate pieces mattered. Kudo evidenced superb dexterity in presto sections of "Pierrot" and "Replique." The flirtatious "Coquette" mirrored her playful spirit. Kudo seduced listeners with a lovely delicacy in intimate passages of "Eusebius." And aside from a rare smudging in a fast octave run, Kudo showed outstanding stamina -- particularly in the closing "March."