Above : Liza Lim and Kirill Gerstein after his performance of Liza’s Transcendental Etude. Photo credit: James Grant. Featured image: Kirill Gerstein performs in an earlier Musica Viva concert in Melbourne. Photo credit: James Grant.
This was an intelligently structured and innovative recital programme, full of excellent inner pathways and connections.A real celebration of the pianist’s recapitulation to our shores, following Covid and other delays, this eventual excursion to Australia by Kirill Gerstein was well worth the wait.
The excellent inner journeys in the selected works took us along a satisfying path, with a seamless soundtrack of exquisitely balanced and nuanced piano works from the keyboard greats of the Romantic period and great lesser heard composers of the twentieth century.
Inner keyboard voices leapt out at us anew in this refreshing piano pastiche, as this powerhouse musician with the seemingly effortless command of challenging textures, tempi, trajectory and Gerstein’s titan control of contrast as well as atmospheric shifts.
In this concert we were exposed to Chopin, Liszt and Schumann works, with an emphasis on the freer, fantasia-style imprint of works other than the huge flagship works from each pianistic great’s oeuvre.
We heard works paying tribute to the polonaise dance form’s dotted rhythm trademark, but in works celebrating composers’ less rigid views of dance in shifting, almost extemporised utterances. A nocturne, intermezzi, plus Liza Lim’s commissioned new work, an etude with a difference, were enjoyable signposts of the joy in freer forms celebrated here. Some character pieces also fleshed out the dance card at this event.
Moments of rhythmic vitality alternated and reflected themselves with straying into introspection and finely chiselled layers of tone colour and dynamic hue from full but never harsh sonority right down to the strain-to-hear reverberance of the softer spectrum. Voice leading excellence, upper voice balance despite dense textures and a beautifully smooth veneer to filigree or bravura on all volume levels was heard right from the opening Chopin work, his late-period Polonaise-Fantasie in A flat major.
There was an endearing joyous lilt to the musical atmospheres selected. Amidst some formidable technical displays this pianist dropped back to display a perfect restraint in the more reserved moments.
Above: Kirill Gerstein in recital. Photo credit: James Grant.
This contrast with finely wrought and carefully calibrated nuances offered listeners a satisfying sense of balance and equilibrium. Added to this was a rewarding addition of Fauré and Poulenc to the programme, taking the music history tessitura way past the delicious nineteenth century. Such a left turn and detour into the take on nocturne as well as intermezzi writing by Fauré and Poulenc was a nice look at development or extension of stalwart Romantic vehicles.
It also allowed this touring pianist’s gifts to extend to sharing the subtle atmospheric energy of these French masters of elegance and soundscape-experiences at times greatly lacking in typical piano recital programming.
Gems of contrast abounded by the inclusion and intricate rendering of clever works by living composers Brad Mehldau (in his 2024 work Après Fauré) as well as Liza Lim’s beautifully transcendent etude work complete with reworking of an Iranian protest song amongst the innovative gesturing and virtuosic velvet. The inclusion of two works from the last two years also complete the triumphant swoop of this event.
Getstein’s sharing of moments containing spontaneous feeling and unbridled festivity imprinted audience for some time after the recital ended. Gerstein’s keyboard balance and dramatic command also was evident in his delivery of the Liszt Polonaise in E major S223 No.2. This less typical or grand display from Liszt still has plenty of run away display and tricky segmentation or shifts in musical or physical keyboard terms.
Within this recital’s close network, this work drew parallels to Chopin, whom Liszt admired and enjoyed dialogue with. Gerstein’s range, breathing and voicing in this performance were breathtaking.
Chopin works with plenty on introversion and uniqueness to begin each half of the concert were special moments. The Fantasie in F minor was brilliantly paced and showed this musician’s innate ability to shrink and grow the playing in constant contrast without ever losing momentum.
Well-characterised keyboard playing and realisation of a set of non standard form works was a great way to complete the concert. Schumann’s complete Carnival Jests From Vienna twisted and turned and amazed the listener in a thought and acoustic provoking parcel of personality from another piano great.
Two encores from this visiting piano great brought the evening at the City Recital Hall to a compelling close. Kreisler’s Liebeslied as arranged by Sergei Rachmaninov and more swirling gestures of more lilting Chopin made the audience dance cards extremely, joyously full.
The fine architecture of the substantial contrasts and links in this recital night was extremely refreshing and successful. Bravo to this thoughtful pianist and to Musica Viva Australia for ensuring his special brand of the classic piano recital model comes to us on current national tour. Leaving the concert had a sense of gratitude for being exposed to the impact of such a series of progressive, entertaining and worthwhile tone poems in cleverly juxtaposed clusters.
