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MALCOLM MILLER attends a special piano
recital at
Wigmore Hall-18 April 2001
The music of the Lithuanian composer Mikalojus Konstantinas
Ciurlionis (1875-1911) is little known by pianists let alone audiences,
and it was thus a special treat to hear a selection performed by one of
the few specialists, Lithuanian pianist Mûza Rubackyté, at
London's Wigmore Hall on 18 April 2001. Ciurlionis was a Renaissance
man in that he combined the careers of painter and composer, and became
a symbol of Lithuanian culture at the cusp of the 20th century, the
period of the first independent state. It was thus apt to feature his
solo piano music, of which Miss Rubackyté has recorded two CDs
(on the Marco Polo label). Miss Rubackyté, who won first prize
in the Budapest Competition in 1981, has received much acclaim for her
Liszt interpretations (she has recorded three CDs on the Lyrinx label).
Currently resident in Paris, she has extended her specialisms in
Ciurlionis and Liszt to include French music, which formed the first
half of an imaginative 20th century programme performed with panache.
Debussy's Suite Bergamasque was the bold opener, its ravishing palette
projected with sensitivity to the layers of texture and evocative
harmonic idiom. Her attractive tonal palette emerged especially in the
luminescent Clair de Lune, Debussy's textural polyphony articulated
within a velvety tone, as also in 'Première communion de la
Vierge' from Messiaen's Vingt Regards, with its delicately flitting
birdcalls, and resonant chord progressions. One could trace the
influence of Ravel's Oiseaux Tristes on Messaien in her evocative
account that highlighted the hovering harmonies. Similarly in Alborada,
where a curious clarity of gesture intermingled with more evanescent
effects, swooping harp glissandi, decorative turns, slightly piquant
harmonies, which coalesced into a canvas of refined colours. If
occasionally Miss Rubackyté was too hard edged, plucking out
melodic lines brusquely rather than smoothly, but this was particularly
well suited to the extrovert Three Etudes Op 52 (1, 2 and 6) by
Saint-Saëns, seldom played works which Miss Rubackyté
brought off with bravura. Whilst somewhat banal in places, there is
much to enjoy in these works, the suave lyricism of the second Etude
and almost burlesque extravagance of the final Etude. The performance
was a tour de force.
Two Nocturnes and Three Preludes by Ciurlionis formed a fascinating
sample of an oeuvre that deserves wider airing; The style blends
melodic yearning, hints of folk music, and contrasts of poetry and
turmoil, strongly reminiscent of Rachmaninov and Scriabin. Yet if
sometimes texturally uneven, there is considerable expressive character
and individuality in these vivid, eloquent miniatures. The climax was
Prokofiev's Sixth Sonata, a fiery interpretation that unleashed
forceful energy and driving rhythms, the thematic complexity projected
with insight and power, and a profoundly expressive slow movement, and
fizzing finale. It affirmed Miss Rubackyté's strident and
incisive style and affinity for Russian music, again demonstrated in
her second encore -- following some beautifully cantabile, though over
romanticised Bach -- of an exhilarating 'moto perpetuo' by Shchedrin,
received with suitably enthusiastic applause.
(Miss Rubackyté's visit to the UK included a
concert première of the chamber version of Beethoven's 4th piano
Concerto at the Mill Hill Music Club ).