Yesterday evening I attended a recital at Carnegie Hall given by pianist Leif Ove Andsnes whose playing I've admired since I first heard him years ago in Lincoln Center's Great Performers series. On this occasion he performed a thoughtful, well balanced program that featured works by Sibelius, Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin.
The recital began with selection of smaller works by Sibelius - Kyllikki, Op. 41; “The Birch Tree,” Op. 75, No. 4; “The Spruce,” Op. 75, No. 5; “Forest Lake,” Op. 114, No. 3; “Song in the Forest,” Op. 114, No. 4; “Spring Vision,” Op. 114, No. 5. Today Sibelius is known primarily for his symphonies, his violin concerto and such tone poems at The Swan of Tuonela, but up until his withdrawal from composing in 1926 he was extremely prolific - his opus numbers reached 117 and he had thirty or so more works that were unnumbered. It's all the more surprising then that Sibelius produced so little during the last thirty years of his life. Much the same situation was to occur with Charles Ives. In both cases, the composers grew so self-critical that they were no longer able to create new works. The piano works performed at this recital covered almost Sibelius's entire career from Kyllikki which, despite its opus number was completed in 1904, to the three selections from the Op. 114 which date from 1929 when the composer had all but retired. These were all quiet meditative works, almost brooding at times. The image that came to mind as I listened was that of autumn leaves gently falling into still waters.
Following this came a sonata from a turbulent moment in Beethoven's life. The Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat Major, Op. 31, No. 3 dates from 1802, the same year in which the composer wrote the famous Heiligenstadt Testament in which he expressed his anguish over the loss of his hearing. Most musicologists consider the writing of this document to be a turning point in the development of Beethoven's art and mark from it the beginning of his Middle Period. None of the composer's despair is evident, though, in the present sonata. It's as bright and cheerful a work as one could wish. This is at least partly because the piece contains no slow movement (although the third movement minuet, marked moderato e grazioso, was here played much nearer the tempo of an andante). But the sonata can also be seen as a farewell to the Classical forms Beethoven had learned from Haydn. This was the last of the composer's piano sonatas, other than the Op. 106, to be structured in four movements and the last to contain a minuet. One can imagine Beethoven in this work looking back fondly over the ground he has traveled before turning away and moving on toward new goals.
After intermission, the program continued with several works by Debussy - “La soirée dans Grenade” from Estampes; Etude No. 7, “Pour les degrés chromatiques”; Etude No. 11, “Pour les arpèges composés”; Etude No. 5, “Pour les octaves.” The first of these, “La soirée dans Grenade” ("An Evening in Grenada") is the second of the three Estampes ("Prints") for piano composed in 1903. Though Debussy loathed the term "impressionist," there is really no other way to describe this short tone poem in which the double harmonic major scale (a/k/a the "Gypsy" scale) is used to counterfeit the sound of guitar strumming to create a brilliant evocation of the Spanish spirit. Debussy's set of twelve Études, three of which were performed at this recital, were written in 1915 when he had already begun to suffer from cancer and are among his last major works. Dedicated to Chopin, whose own Études Debussy had only just finished reediting, these are more than a simple set of exercises. They are actually extraordinarily difficult and intended to test the virtuosity of the performer as the composer himself made clear when he wrote regarding them:
"In point of technique these Études will usefully prepare pianists for a better understanding of the fact that the portals of music can only be opened with formidable hands."
The program closed with four works by Chopin in different genres - Impromptu in A-flat Major, Op. 29; Etude in A-flat Major from Trois nouvelles études; Nocturne in F Major, Op. 15, No. 1; Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52. These were all familiar works but the one that most demanded the listener's attention was the last, the Ballade No. 4. Written in 1842 and revised in 1843, it is often deservedly considered Chopin's masterpiece. It is an introspective work, thoroughly imbued with the spirit of Romanticism, in which Chopin set out to express pianistically everything he had so far learned about life. As such, it was a fitting conclusion to the program.
Leif Ove Andsnes proved once again at this recital what a fine musician he is. There is nothing flashy in his style and his respect for the music is evident in every note. It was a truly enjoyable evening for the appreciative audience and they responded warmly to both the music and the performer.
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