I attended Lukáš Vondrácek’s piano recital on Monday, November 22, 2010 at Weill Recital Hall within Carnegie Hall. The recital was scheduled to start at eight pm; I bought my ticket at the box office a half hour before it started. This is first time that I attended a recital alone and I was a little bit nervous. But quickly my mood changed from nervous to excited when the ticket seller told me that my seat was in the front row. When I found my seat and looked toward the stage, there was a black Steinway grand piano at center of stage. Unexpected, I realized that I had a best seat in the house. The piano was only about six feet away from me and I was able to see pianist’s fingers and facial expressions throughout the performance.
Weill Recital Hall only holds about one hundred eighty seats, and very quickly all the seats were filling up. Vondrácek wore a black suit with his hair combed back. When he made his entrance, everyone started to applaud.
The first piece he played was Italian Concerto, BWV 971. The composer who wrote this piece is Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach was born in central Germany. He wrote many of his finest works for organ and began work on The Well-Tempered Clavier in 1722, and finished in 1742. Italian Concerto, BWV 971 was published in 1735 as part of Clavier-Übung II”. This work has three movements and it is in Baroque style. It is one of the most popular works for keyboard in F major.
First movement is allegretto in duple meter. It starts with a subject and played with exposition. And as the music continues a few episodes are heard in between, and finally the same subject was heard again to end this movement. The melody for this movement is a quick shift from long notes to very short ones, it created an exuberant sound. The dynamics of sound is mostly in f. Second movement is in andante, dynamics change to p. The texture of the bottom bass can be heard clearly, but not overtaking the top Soprano. They are of equal importance to be heard. The last movement quickly changes to presto in f.
The second piece Vondrácek played was Variations Serieuses, Op.54. This notable piano piece was written by the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809~1847). Mendelssohn received his first instruction in music from his mother; he progressed so rapidly that his exceptional talent soon became apparent. Mendelssohn was greatly influenced in his childhood by the music of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. Today, he is among the most popular composers of the Romantic era.
Variations Serieuses, Op.54 is in D minor, duple meter. The opening theme is sustaining andante and gradually develops in complexity to create a romantically driven mood. The music starts in p and soon develops into ff. The work superbly gives each single variation an idiosyncratic character. Vondrácek used the right side of the sustaining pedal to enable the strings to continue to sound, and used the soft pedal to soften the dynamic level. The end of this piece changes quickly from ff, presto to the last few notes of adagio in p. The sounds integrate and create a different depth and level throughout the piece.
The next piece is Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 33 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff was born on 1873, near the ancient city of Novgorod, Russia. He was a problem child, but had an extraordinary talent at the piano, and by the age of nine he entered the College of Music in St. Petersburg.
Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 33 is a set of nine pieces from late Romantic period; but Vondrácek played only No. 1, 3, 8, and 9. No. 1 in F minor is a piece on alternate hands and syncopations. It shifts unsteadily throughout in time signature from 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, and 3/2. It starts ff and diminuendo to p, this pattern was repeated a few times and ended p. It creates uneasy rhythm. No. 3 in C minor, unlike No. 1, was played in lento; most of dynamics played either crescendo or diminuendo which create the softness to this piece. No. 8 is in G minor and its duple meter. This piece Vondrácek smoothes alterations with the hands without affecting the fluency of the melody. A lot of short note accompaniment interweaves between hands, which gives great personality and beautiful melody for the piece. Finally, No. 9 in C-sharp minor is a loud piece most in ff, creating a huge roar and extreme dissonance.
After the intermission, Czech Dances composed by Bedřich Smetana begins. Smetana became the conductor of the Royal Provincial Czech Theatre in 1866. By 1874 he started losing his hearing and eventually became deaf. Despite this handicap, he continued to compose. Czech Dances were Smetana’s last major piano works with ten dances. Vondrácek performed two dances Hulán and Skocná. Hulán is in A major, rhythm is in triple meter. This song describes a tender women’s dance, depicting a girl longing for her soldier lover. The tempo was andantino. It began with silky nuances with incredibly warm and sympathetic feeling. Melody can be heard wide range of the key board playing. The next piece is Skocná, in F major. This piece, although in duple meter, has a much faster rhythm than Hulán. It was so fast Vondrácek’s fingers were tip-toeing across the key board. Even though this is a dance piece, it seems impossible to dance with such speed in person. It is more proper to say that Vondrácek is dancing on the key board.
Following are Four Lyric Pieces (Op.57, No. 6 Heimweh, Op.62, No. 2 Takk, Op. 62, No. 4 Bekken and Op. 68, No. 3 For dine fotter) by Edvard Grieg. He was a Norwegian composer and pianist who composed in the Romantic period. Lyric Pieces is a collection of 66 short pieces written for solo piano. First Op.57, No. 6 Heimweh opens with a sense of gloom pervading the slow pace. Suddenly, the music turns playful and lively as in childlike wonder. Soon, the melancholy from the opening returns. There is also a sense of longing as if reflecting on some past memory. This piece is played in triple meter. On Op.62, No. 2 Takk is a piece about gratitude. It is in duple meter. The melody gives a sense of warm and softness. The way the modulation is played sounds like the narration of a story.
Next piece is Op.62, No. 4 is a piece that describes a brook. The harmony starts with arpeggio is heard like movement of the water. Vondrácek smoothly played each short note on the key board; it brings the vivid pictures of stream rapid moving downstream. The last piece Op. 68, No. 3 For dine føtter is a piece of work expressing a scene or feeling of sadness. The melody is soft, with dynamic crescendo or decrescendo to increase the idea of specific feeling he wants to express. These entire four pieces are lovely, even though the length of these pieces is only three to five minutes; each piece is able to touch the listener’s heart. The music is so beautiful that one almost feels it ended too soon; it would be great if Edvard Grieg was able to write these pieces for a minute or two longer.
The final piece Vondrácek played was Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83 from Sergei Prokofiev. Prokofiev was born in Sontsovka, an isolated rural estate in Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire. He displayed unusual musical abilities by the age of five. Prokofiev composed this Piano Sonatas in 1939, and it is widely known as the “War Sonatas” today. This music is in minor and taken faster than allegro and itself does not make for easy listening. Raw emotion and all the anger can be vividly felt. The extreme high speed and dynamic in ff were seamless from beginning to the end. Vondrácek also non-stop used the right side of the sustaining pedal to enable the strings to continue to sound, and used soft pedal to soften the dynamic level. The whole piano was shaking from Vondrácek’s powerful playing.
With this final piece Vondrácek brings the recital to completion. The audience stood up and applauded for a very long time, and asked for an encore. Vondrácek came out to thank the audience and played an additional piece. His announcement was not heard very clearly, so I am not certain what he said or what additional piece he played for the encore. Vondrácek really performed some outstanding piano music.
Every piece of work was beautifully played. He really had done a “Bravo” job and displayed his excellent technical skills. I specifically liked the Lyric Pieces by Edvard Grieg. It reminds me the tone poems, as I can see a vivid picture in my mind by listening to Vondrácek’s playing. And the music feels so passionate. For all the other pieces, I found it enjoyable to listen and sit closely to see the performer’s skill. If I still played piano today, it would be a great benefit to me to see another performer playing and to learn from other performer’s skill. But for people who don’t play piano and are not used to listening to this type of classical music, it would be a little bit too heavy. Even though I really enjoyed Lukáš Vondrácek’s piano recital, Orchestra music is still my favorite.
Works Cited
“Czech Dances, Bedřich Smetana.” Pianosociety.com. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.
Schwartz, Steve. ”Edvard Grieg.” Classical.net. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.
“Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953).” Pianosociety.com. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.
DuBose, Joseph. “Italian Concerto, BWV 971, Johann Sebastian Bach.” Classicalconnect.com. 9 March 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
“Felix Mendelssohn.” NNDB.com. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
“Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 33 (Rachmaninoff, Sergei).” Imslp.org. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
“Mendelssohn: Variations Serieuses, Op. 54.” Pianostreet.com. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
“Sergei Rachmaninoff.” Lucidcafe.com. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
“Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 39 (Rachmaninoff).” Enotes.com. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.
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