EIF: Mikhail Pletnev plays Chopin
Usher Hall - 17/08/23
Before I begin this review, I must confess two things.
a) In October 1996, I was part of a solo quartet (Alexandrina Pendachanska, Barbara Frittoli, Gwyn Hughes Jones and myself) which performed the Mozart C Minor Mass with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the Barbican Hall, London, conducted by Mikhail Pletnev.
b) My piano playing is non-existent – sub ‘Chopsticks’, but I know what I like!
I found this all-Chopin recital utterly compelling and sublime, a view backed by the tumultuous applause of the reasonable, but by no means full, audience in the Usher Hall. Chatting with friends after the concert, it became apparent that there was a considerable dissenting opinion, which found Mr Pletnev’s playing self-indulgent and contrary to what they saw as Chopin’s style.
Offering confession b) as witness, I must say that I was profoundly moved by Mikhail Pletnev’s performance in a recital consisting entirely of music by Chopin, an hour and a half of intense and deeply beautiful playing. The piano sounded brilliant, especially in the upper registers, and his playing, although physically restrained, was technically superb. It was interesting to see how little his upper body moved during his playing. We are so used now to seeing all sorts of extravagant movement on the piano stool, with dramatic gestures aplenty, that it was salutary to see that all Mr Pletnev’s interpretation came from the arms and the hands. I love watching old films of Artur Rubinstein playing Chopin, and he too was a model of reserve in his playing. This, I think, is probably the way to do it, although Chopin himself may have been more demonstrative!
Mr Pletnev certainly was extremely diffident on stage. He wandered on, sat down at the piano, and launched into the first piece, the Polonaise in C Sharp Minor, Op 26 No 1, written in 1835, when the composer was 25. Like so many of the great composers, Chopin died young (only 39), and his development as a composer was cut tragically short. The over-riding feel of the recital was of the pianist exploring Chopin’s world, almost regardless of us watching, as he moved seamlessly from one piece to another. A bravura recital this was not, but the quality of the playing, and the intense concentration of the recitalist, certainly drew this spectator into the music.
What I liked about Mikhail Pletnev’s interpretations of Chopin was the feel that he was improvising to a certain extent on the notes in front of him. This can be a dangerous practice, but as a composer himself, and as a virtuoso pianist with forty years’ experience, I am prepared to give him some slack.
The first half saw four pieces played with a certain amount of restraint but with unfailing beauty of tone and unflagging virtuosity. The second half began with the well-known Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op 9 No 2, played with nonchalant skill, and coming to its gentle nocturnal close. Mr Pletnev continued with a selection of Nocturnes, some contemplative, some more unsettled, guiding us through Chopin’s extraordinary invention.
The recital ended with his most famous Polonaise, (A flat Major, Op53), from 1842, a majestic interpretation by Mikhail Pletnev which brought the audience to their feet. He wandered off, and then wandered back on, the soul of discretion, far from the flamboyant virtuoso of popular culture, and was persuaded to give us a couple of encores, Glinka’s ‘L’Alouette’ and an Étude by Moszkowski, once again beautifully performed.
I found the whole evening thrilling and uplifting, leaving me with the impression that we had seen a master at work! There is something wonderful about a solo piano playing in that huge auditorium, with its fantastic acoustics, and I was taken back nearly fifty years to when the Festival was at its peak, and we heard solo recitals by such as Barenboim and Brendel.
Cover photo: Russian National Orchestra
