Louis Haymoz( Coll:, 24-) picks his winner
The Wykehamist
The Concerto Competition Final
Louis Haymoz( Coll:, 24-) picks his winner
Maurice Ravel— Piano Concerto in G major— Coen Li piano Sergei Rachmaninoff— Piano Concerto no. 2 op. 18 movements 1 & 3— Laurie Sawbridge piano Gerald Finzi— Clarinet Concerto movements 2 & 3— Winston Chan clarinet NAS accompanist Toby Purser adjudicator New Hall, 7th February
Ravel’ s only piano concerto opens with massive glissandi and what some say are imitations of animal noises. His meticulousness and preoccupation with industrial precision are said to account for the brisk and rhythmic nature of his pieces such as Bolero, or, indeed, this very formidable concerto.
Coen( G, 22-) kicked off the first movement with clarity and control, featuring admirably crisp staccato and displaying a confident stage presence. It was a gentlemanly interpretation, though I would have personally preferred more risk-taking, especially on the dynamic front. Going for a deeper( and potentially harsher) sound would have contributed to a more folk-like and rustic feel, given the Concerto’ s Basque, Spanish and jazz influences. In particular, a more diverse colour palette could have been achieved with further accentuation, enhancing Ravel’ s trademark out-of-place, cuckoo-like dissonances.
His repeated notes were very well executed, and middle voices were projected clearly when needed— perhaps a more vertical, jabbing idea would have helped to bring out the jazzy colours even more. His trills were moreover generally crisp, and were backed by a strong bassline. Also very impressive was his smooth application of a controlled and gentle pianissimo, though more experimentation with different balancing of voices, a greater sense of contrast, and even the occasional exaggeration could have potentially further enhanced the brusque nature of the first movement. More collaboration between him and Dr Salwey could also have gone a long way, especially in their intricate shared melodic lines, though I would not worry about this too much, as a piano accompaniment is, of course, totally incomparable to the effect of an orchestra.
The lyrical second movement, a calm waltz / nocturne hybrid reminiscent of Ravel’ s Pavane, once again featured some very impressively controlled pianissimo. It is a shame that much of the charm of a cor anglais is inevitably lost in the piano reduction, but twinkling effects( think Chopin’ s Scherzo No. 3!), expressed lightly and evenly, made up for it. The build-ups were also finely paced, and Coen managed to transition out of the climaxes smoothly and without ever dragging the tempi. The tone would occasionally be ever-so-slightly inconsistent, though it did not bother me much.
All in all, Coen demonstrated superb control throughout. Changes in character were executed with poise; solid tempi were picked; the runs were incredibly clean; clean accentuation brought out clashing dissonances well. Repeated, flurried notes, meanwhile, brought a liquidity that contrasted well with the rhythmic and brassy fanfare-like chords. These details are what makes a showpiece performance, and Coen really made it stick. I would not be surprised if Yuja is his preferred recording.
In 1900, Sergei Rachmaninoff was in what can only be described as complete misery. Three years after the disastrous première of his first symphony, having been‘ butchered’ by those such as Glazunov and Cesar Cui, he had lost all his family wealth, his idol Tchaikovsky had recently died, and he was( unbelievably) prohibited by the church from marrying his
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