The Middlebury Campus

Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Arts

Media Credit: Courtesy Leschenko abused some famous virtuoso piano compositions during her Oct. 26 concert. [Click to enlarge]

Could it be possible that young concert pianists have so mastered technique that they have become oblivious to acceptable interpretation? The October 26th concert answered with a resounding, at times deafening, "yes" in response to this question. The concert, comprised of Bach-Busoni, Bach-Feinberg, Chopin and Liszt, was performed by the young Russian-and-rushing pianist Polina Leschenko - her hair billowing, her fingers flying - in a full Mahaney Center for the Arts Concert Hall.

The concert opened with a promising performance of a questionable transcription. As with most Busoni transcriptions, the piano version of the Chaconne from the second Violin Partita in D Minor seems to be the Romantic apotheosis of an already powerful composition. At times when played on the piano, the Chaconne seems poorly written. A violin playing the opening chords as quadruple-stops helps bring out the piece's counterpoint, whereas on the piano the chords - filled out and romanticized by Busoni - sound metallic and harsh rather than nuanced. Leschenko played the work more faithful to Busoni than to Bach, which may have ruffled some violinists' feathers. Of note was Leschenko's tendency to accelerate for emotional effect, certainly contrary to what Bach would have intended. Overall the interpretation of the Chaconne, which included an apt pause between the uplifting climax and the return of the theme, seemed to be at least thoughtful if not auspicious.

When the program shifted from piano transcriptions of Bach to piano transcriptions of Paganini, things took a turn for the worst. Liszt's sixth "Etude after Paganini," taken from the famous 24th Caprice - the basis for Brahms, Rachmaninoff and Lutoslawski variation cycles - is designed to be more an impressive encore than filler for a serious recital. The work came off as more apocalyptic than crafty. Leshenko's sense for 'showbiz' became apparent as she stood up and bowed before the audience had time to react with applause.

Continued...

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