Celebrated Pianist Frank Plays Concert Hall

Author: Kate DeForest

Claude Frank is a man who deceives in appearance but exceeds expectations.At a performance last Friday night at the Center for the Arts Concert Hall, Frank walked onto the stage, a smallish man in a slightly wrinkled but elegant tuxedo. With neither a prelude nor a personal introduction, he began to play "Fantasia and Fugue in A minor" by Bach, almost before the applause from his entrance had subsided. He played in a dynamic, yet not overly dramatic style, rocking slightly with the music. When finished, he stood, took a brief bow, and launched into the next selection on the program.

So went much of the night: surprisingly little drama for what can be a very theatrical experience, as other performances at the College this year have demonstrated. On this occasion, however, Frank's real concern was the music, more so than visual entertainment or elitist reputation.

Frank's reputation, however, places him within a core group of performing elite. He has played with nearly every major orchestra imaginable, including repeated soloist performances for the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, National Symphony and Philadelphia orchestras.

He is also established internationally, havin performed with the Royal Philharmonic, Toronto, Brussels, Zurich, Hamburg and Frankfurt orhestras, as well as many others.

Living in Nuremburg, Germany, until age 12, he later moved with his father in Brussels, Belgium. He left Brussels to study in the Paris Conservatoire until the German occupation during World War II forced him to cut his studies short.

He gained a visa to the United States after the American Consul in Spain, where he was living illegally, heard him perform at a party. In the United States, he studied with Arthur Schnabel and Karl Ulrich Schnabel, in addition to studying composition and conducting at Columbia University. He also studied with Serge Koussevitzky at Tanglewood. He debuted with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in 1959.

More recently, Frank has been giving joint recitals with his daughter, Pamela Frank. Ms. Frank was scheduled to appear with her father at his College performance, but was unable due to an injury. He has also appeared alongside the Emerson Quartet, a world renowned quartet which has visited the campus.

In addition to his concert and chamber performances, Frank has also had a distinguished recording careerl. RCA released his recordings of the 32 Beethoven sonatas and his worldwide performances of the cycle (he played the "Waldstein" sonata, Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 53 during the concert last Friday). The release proved a bestseller and Time Magazine listed it as one of the year's "10 Best."

It also garnered the highest recommendation, above other renditions, in the publications High Fidelity and Stereo Review.

Currently, in addition to performances like last Friday's, Frank is on the faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and serves a professor at Yale University. He also conducts various master classes.

His program on Friday consisted of four pieces, each by a different master: Bach, Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven, played in that order. The program ranged from the light and delicate themes of the Bach "Fantasia" to the almost percussive and dark tones of the Mozart Rondo in A minor, K. 511. Each piece, it seemed, had been selected to showcase a different facet of the pianist's interpretive ability. Frank's body language remained nearly unchanged as he delved into each piece, using the music and strength of his technique as the sole vehicle for the emotional and intellectual content of the music.

One didn't need to see his personal expression to understand what emotion the music sought to convey.

Without the pianist as role model, the audience was unbiased as to how the music was to affect them: listening became a much more individual experience.

Indeed, this was evident even during the final applause, when some chose to give a standing ovation while others remained seated, defying the present tendency toward an all-or-nothing audience reaction.

Frank's performance was one of an artist comfortable enough in his art to be without need of gimmicks or coercion to interact with the audience.

It was a relief to be able to focus on the music, and not the flipping coat tails or exaggerated gestures; it was wonderfully satisfying to hear a masterful and fresh performance from a man who has been performing and perfecting his style for so many years.