In an exciting and varied series of chamber music concerts curated by Coady Green, one extraordinary soloist performed a recital of rarely heard repertoire for piano, giving us a memorable evening with an impressive recital with the added wisdom, artistry, and maturity that can only come from his many decades of experience. International concert pianist Michael Leslie, now a long term resident of Germany, has been hailed as one of the finest musicians ever to have come out of Australia – “Sydney’s loss being Germany’s gain”. Leslie’s love, knowledge and finely tuned personal insights shared with us went straight to the heart and structure of the music. From the piano, we welcomed his eloquent musical tour guide of the most important essence of the principal themes in each work, personally connecting us more meaningfully in the composer-performer-audience relationship.
Introducing J. S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, BWV 833, Leslie highlighted his choice of the F-sharp minor key in this program, and the significance of its relative A major in particular. With excellent program notes too, we were highly primed to recognise and feel every clear melodic line of Bach’s complex structure, confidently engaging with Leslie’s warmth and connection. Perhaps exaggerating the buoyant principal theme and the subdued contrasting gentler sadder tones in the Prelude’s second theme, Leslie’s right hand melodies sang with clarity, his left hand like a tenor voice, mellow and warmer in tone.
This was the “new” Bach, with the modern Shigaru Kawai grand piano used to express its warm, expressive dynamic and legato possibilities, pedals used minimally, splendid colour and technical clarity highlighting every new statement and melodic phrase. Leslie spoke of the rules of contrapuntal writing, but reminded us of the need for both imagination and improvisation, and allowed his fugue to grow in energy, excitement and dynamics towards its close. A “new” Bach.
In Chopin’s Polonaise in F-sharp minor, Leslie’s pedalled sonorities expanded the piano’s tonal dimensions, with his left hand strongly emphasising bass octaves, highlighting the passion and political defiance felt by the composer for his homeland. Beautiful shadowy tones added soulful elements in nostalgic mazurka rhythms, which Leslie warmly and slowly broadened into a shadowy, melancholic waltz, gradually adding a hopeful brightness in tone to the highest melodic points. A surging and emotive cadenza flew up the keys heralding the return of an even more dramatic polonaise rhythm with increasing fortissimos in final chords.
Introducing Beethoven: Sonata in A, Op. 101, Leslie spoke of the work being “atypical of the composer, rarely played and exceedingly difficult”. The composer’s direction for the opening Allegretto, ma non troppo is “rather animatedly, and with most fervent expression”. Leslie did indeed entice much beauty, varied hues and shades of light in lyrical melodic shapes and cleanly articulated phrases. In his Vivace alla marcia he turned the piano into an orchestra, with buoyant but legato skipping rhythms still performed sensitively with colourful solo themes varied in tone and timbre. It was a joy to hear a romantic fugal section, and a profound Adagio played as the composer directed: “slowly and longingly” – Beethoven in rare tenderness with melodies clearly shining out in varied tone colours as they shifted across the range of the keyboard. A gorgeous bell-like percussive section led towards gentle suspension of activity and decreasing power, then, bass figures, suggestive of low orchestral tympani rolls preceded a most resolute close in a widely spread symphonic chordal cadence. Michael Leslie truly shared his love and understanding of Beethoven.
Described by Eric F. Jensen as “the most unconventional and the most intriguing of Schumann’s piano sonatas”, Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 11 has an unusual structure. Following Interval, Leslie again spoke of F=sharp minor as “a key which does not feel good in its own skin and constantly seeks to morph into A major or the more triumphant D major – a key which tugs at the passions”. A fine educator, Leslie shared some of his imaginative ideas: “the sense of the left hand walking and the right hand being like a dog tugging at your clothes”. In this complex, moody, virtuosic, and difficult romantic work, Michael Leslie, brilliant octogenarian, walked hand-in-hand with the 26-year-old Schumann. In a work so revealing of youth’s dreams, passion and desires, then evolving through the end of dreams, loss of love and hope, this was a stirring emotional musical journey. Leslie induced new bright timbres from the piano, captivated us with an extensive range of emotional colour, technical mastery and intelligent musical storytelling in an admirable performance from memory. Truly glorious.
Following much applause and call-back, the pianist returned to the stage in this relaxed and intimate performing space, to informally meet and engage with audience in a most amiable and warm-hearted way.
Photo supplied.
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Julie McErlain reviewed “Michael Leslie – Bach, Chopin, Beethoven, Schumann”, presented by fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival and The Institute for Inquiring Minds at fortyfivedownstairs on May 16, 2025.
