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The Friends of Chamber Music presented pianist Stephen Prutsman at the Folly Theater last Friday. Billed as a romantic evening (little "r" perhaps because it was Valentine's weekend), it was, in musical fact, a "Classical-Romantic-Impressionist-Baroque-20^th century" evening with something for everyone.

The program opened with Haydn's Sonata No. 52 in E-Flat Major, written in 1794 when Haydn was 62 - an "old man" for the time. To suggest that this was a "mature" work runs the risk of sounding trite, but in fact, it did convey a sense of self-awareness by the classical elder statesman that likely is responsible, in part, for its distinct "non-Haydn-ness." The Sonata sounded quite a bit more like an early Beethoven work (Beethoven being 24 at the time). In previous reviews, I have made no secret of the fact that I am no fan of Haydn, but this unique piece was quite enjoyable. Prutsman's artistic, almost "conductor-like" delivery was energetic and pristine and gave the piece a freshness that likely pleased 19^th century audiences as much as it still does modern ones.

Chopin's Ballade No. 2 in F Major has always struck me as a piece representative of a pianistic battle between Chopin and his contemporary (both born in 1810) Robert Schumann, and hearing it live did not change that impression. Prutsman offered the Ballade with a sensitive interpretation of the lilting opening melody (Schumann). The middle section erupted with a ferocity that snapped the listener abruptly back to a realization that this was, indeed, Chopin - with all the flair and virtuosity one usually expects. Prutsman's deft handling of the stark differences in themes showed off both his artistic interpretive skills and his formidable technique, and the balance required during the second half of the piece where both themes vie for superiority was masterful.

The first half of the program closed with three selections from Maurice Ravel's Miroirs (Une barque sur l'océan, Alborada del gracioso and La vallée des cloches). Aurally, Ravel stands distinctly apart from his impressionist contemporaries with unique open-architecture voicings that use the piano as a broader sound palette than, say, Debussy. It is rarer to hear non-orchestral works by Ravel (try avoiding the over-played Bolero in the concert repertoire!), so these pianistic gems were a treat, and again Prutsman's versatility shined through.

Bach's English Suite No. 6 in D Minor opened the second half.  Bach under less-nuanced hands can become a purely technical exercise - though Prutsman certainly has the chops for that type of approach - but his emotional interpretation was refreshing and succeeded in bringing Bach "off the page" in a way that held my attention throughout. I attended with my wife and she summed the performance up best: "I've never seen anyone have that much fun playing Bach before."

The scheduled program closed with one of the most amazing piano performances I have witnessed with Three Movements from Pétrouchka (Danse russe, Chez Pétrouchka and La semaine grasse). Unlike Rite of Spring, which was originally conceived and written for piano (for four hands - and first debuted by Stravinsky and Debussy), then orchestrated, Pétrouchka had debuted in its orchestral version (on June 13, 1911) and was later reworked as a piano piece. It is, in a word, gargantuan. Prutsman had clearly demonstrated complete mastery of the keyboard to that point in the evening but nothing prepared me for the enormity of the prowess that was brought forth for Pétrouchka. Intimately familiar with the orchestral version, I was astounded at how he was able to bring out each distinctive theme and voice with such stark clarity. Even within huge fistfuls of chord clusters, there existed nuanced voicings. At times, not unlike Rite of Spring, I could have been convinced that there were four hands at work. After the concert, I reveled in Prutsman's lingering enthusiasm for the work when I commented to him (during a CD signing) that "the Stravinsky was insane!" and he energetically replied, "Yeah, it's wild, man!"

For an encore, Prutsman closed the evening with an exquisite rendition of Irving Berlin's What'll I Do dedicated to a family friend who had recently passed away at age 87. Written in 1923, the selection served to bridge the gap between the classical and popular genres with harmonic similarities to those heard in the Ravel pieces. It was an exquisite dessert and a touching musical tribute that closed the evening perfectly.

REVIEW
The Friends of Chamber Music
Stephen Prutsman, Piano
Friday, February 12, 2010
Folly Theatre
300 West 12th Street, Kansas City, MO
www.chambermusic.org

By Christopher Guerin

Traditional and New Classical music, and Theatre Contributor (Past writer)
Christopher Guerin holds degrees in Music Education, Music Business, and Music Theory & Composition, the latter from the University of Massachusetts (Lowell) College of Music where he co-founded the college's Composers' Guild, and, in 1985, won the Artin Arslanian Composition Award. During college, he also obtained some musical theatre experience as a member of pit orchestras for Threepenny Opera and My Fair Lady. Since 1989, Christopher has been in the very non-artistic corporate sector, where his creative energies have been put to more mundane endeavors 

Christopher credits his musical motivations to his late father, who was concertmaster of the Springfield (MA) Community (pre-cursor to the city's current Symphony) Orchestra and performed popular music on radio in the 1930s. Christopher began his classical training in 1972 at age 10, began teaching at 16 (continuing to take private students throughout college), and traveled extensively with a youth orchestra - including to New Zealand in 1980. After college, and until 1989, Christopher focused on the business end of music as a successful sales manager for one of New England's largest music chains.

Over the past 20 years, Christopher's expertise has focused on medicine as a life risk underwriting officer for a large Midwest insurance group. His past duties included responsibility for risk underwriting in Pacific Rim markets where he traveled extensively to Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand and Burma. Time permitting, he has continued to compose intermittently throughout this period. Christopher is married to Paula, a fellow musician he met during college, and together they have "composed" their magnum opera in three very creative children - an architecture student (go K-State!), an aspiring classical pianist, and a budding writer/journalist. He and his wife relocated from Massachusetts to the Kansas City area in 1997.