Just last September, Korean pianist Joyce Yang thrilled Melbourne audiences with a memorable performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 3 with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at Hamer Hall. Brought to the Melbourne Recital Centre under the auspices of Piano+Recitals, a relatively new organization and concert promoter closely aligned with the Sydney International Piano Competition, Joyce is yet another of the formidable Van Cliburn Competition laureates to have graced our shores in recent years. VC laureates Yeol Eum Son, Nobuyuki Tsujii, and Lukáš Vondráček will also perform at the MRC later this year.
A small but enthusiastic audience greeted Yang as she strode out to present a program of (mostly) concert miniatures by four Russian masters – Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky and Mussorgsky – a perhaps brave programming choice in the current political climate.
The program began with a selection of short works from Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons – a collection of twelve (one for each month) ternary form, character pieces, each understated, yet direct in their respective musical narratives. Yang perfectly captured the simple elegance of the opening January: By the Fireside, which contrasted well with the infectious exuberance of the ensuing February: Carnival. April: Snowdrops’ gentle lyricism unfolded eloquently, though one wished for just a little more rhythmic pliability in June: Barcarolle, which came across as just a little too four-squared in its phrasing. The propelling momentum of August: Harvest, replete with impeccably clear and steely double octaves, brought the set to a satisfying close.
Then followed three of Rachmaninoff’s more popular Preludes – the B minor and G# minor Preludes from Op 32, as well as the evergreen Opus 23 D major Prelude. Unlike Chopin’s 24 Preludes (in all keys), which were conceived as an integrated and unified whole, the Russian composer’s Preludes, although ultimately embracing all 24 keys also, were gathered together in a rather looser manner and thus appear in three different opuses. The first of the preludes revealed Yang’s assured and finely balanced control of opulent, multi-layered textures while the second G# minor Prelude (which also featured as an encore post-Rach 3 last year) was notable for its quicksilver deftness of leggiero touch. Interestingly, Yang’s final D major Prelude emphasised line and forward momentum rather than the more usual expansive, luxuriant approach adopted by other performers.
After a short off-stage pause for breath, Yang returned to unleash her dazzling virtuosity in Italian pianist Guido Agosti’s arrangement of three movements from Igor Stravinsky’s iconic Firebird ballet suite. At times the richness of Yang’s tonal palette seemed even to match that of Stravinsky’s dazzlingly ground-breaking orchestration. Her sumptuously sonorous tone filled the auditorium, yet this was complemented by equally finely detailed articulation that managed to distinguish the finely wrought contrasts between competing woodwind, brass and string sections. Fulgent glissandi that cascaded up and down across the complete span of the keyboard were the proverbial icing on the musical cake.
After interval, Yang presented Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (1874), a tour de force if ever there was one. Also a musical mosaic of smaller character pieces, Pictures, perhaps best known to many in one of its numerous orchestrated versions, was inspired by a posthumous exhibition at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St Petersburg, of paintings and watercolours by Mussorgsky’s friend Viktor Hartmann, who had died suddenly the year prior. Each miniature depicts an individual painting, linked by a unifying “Promenade” theme. There are seemingly no technical limitations for Yang and hers was a magisterial reading, vividly evoking the scenes of pictures, most of which are now lost. Highlights were the quirky humour of the Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks, the scampering hyperactivity of Limoges – The Marketplace, and the sumptuously abundant monumentalism of the concluding Great Gate of Kiev.
By contrast, as something of a digestif, Yang offered a lyrical, well-paced, nuanced and aptly dreamy Nocturne by (non-Russian) Grieg. A perfect musical wave-of-the-hand to send a satiated audience off into the night.
Photo supplied.
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Glenn Riddle reviewed the piano recital performed by Joyce Yang and presented by Piano+ at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall on May 10, 2024.
