KCMETROPOLIS.org
Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

Perhaps a testament to the importance of Richard Harriman’s artistic influence in Kansas City over the last 45 years as much as to the fame of leading American pianist, Emanuel Ax, the Folly Theater was near its 1078-seat capacity on Monday night for Ax’s benefit concert in honor of the late Harriman-Jewell Series founder. Harriman’s portrait and an arrangement of autumnal orange and pale blue flowers adorned the Folly’s stage. During an intermission, Harriman-Jewell Series Executive Director, Clark Morris, related a story to the audience of how, upon learning of Harriman’s death this summer, Ax called Morris, volunteering to play a memorial concert in Harriman’s honor.

Ax began his Schubert and Chopin program with Schubert’s second and perhaps lesser-known set of four Impromptus, Op. 142, D. 935. Ax’s approach to the Schubert was to bring the melody to the forefront of the texture while the bass and accompaniment were quite faint at times. In the first Impromptu, I would have preferred some fuller bass tones in the opening, though I appreciated the way Ax drew attention to the harmonic color changes happening under the repetitive melodic stretches.

The first discernible personal stamp Ax brought his performance happened in the third Impromptu in B-Flat Major. Schubert’s second variation of the piece’s theme was peppered with prominent upper- and lower-neighbor half-steps. In Ax’s performance, they took on a very slight jazz flair while the left-hand’s syncopated ragtime-like accompaniment was similarly exaggerated. The pianist could be seen slightly bobbing his head to the music knowingly. I’d say this had something to do with the pianist’s wide variety experiences of performing partnerships and repertory. The moment was a welcome break from the otherwise dutiful and faithful performance of the four Impromptus, though the gentleman quietly snoring behind me most likely missed it.

In the second half, I appreciated Ax’s distinction in his approach to Chopin from that of Schubert. The opening to the Barcarolle in F-sharp minor was very crisp and had a lovely, strong color and a good amount of forward motion. After hearing it, I must say I preferred Ax’s approach to Chopin over the Schubert. He allowed a wider range of dynamics and expression throughout the Chopin selections. These felt more free and unrestrained than the Schubert selections.

Particularly lovely were the two Nocturnes, Op. 27. The climax of the C-Sharp Minor Nocturne found the left-hand trills climbing feverishly up the keyboard like a swarm of bees. The opening melody of the D-Flat Major Nocturne was sustained quite beautifully. Throughout, Chopin’s whimsical melodic ornamentation was disguised from the technical jumble it can sometimes resemble. The big technical display in the cadenza-like right-hand figure was effortless, understated, and over in a few seconds while the left hand barely used any rubato to keep up with the right hand’s thirty-some extra notes. The gentleman behind me who’d been snoring earlier caught this moment, whispering to his wife, “Beautiful! Beautiful!”

The Scherzo No. 2 in B-Flat Minor was also impressive. The secondary theme had a wide range of emotions, fading away at times then growing as strong as the forte chords of the opening. The work’s many sweeping arpeggios were pristine while the piece’s few chorale-like moments were beautifully colored. Ax was most noticeably invested in this piece, bobbing his head from side to side in the more dance-like moments and lovingly drawing out the notes in the slower sections. In the fieriest moments, his performance took on a bit of a Glenn Gould character, humming softly and breathing heavily at times. The performance garnered an uproarious applause from the appreciative Kansas City audience. 

REVIEW
Harriman-Jewell Series
The Richard L. Harriman Memorial Benefit
with Pianist Emanuel Ax
Monday, November 7, 2010
Folly Theater
12th and Central, Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit www.hjseries.org

By Topher Levin

Classical Editor and Contributor

Christopher (Topher) Levin is a composer, pianist, music theorist, and music blogger based in Kansas City, MO. His compositions have been performed at music festivals across the US and in Europe. He has spent two summers in Paris, France studying music at the Ecole Normale de Musique through the EAMA program. His trio for clarinet, piano, and percussion is published in the SCI Journal of Scores.

Topher holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) in music theory and (M.M.) in composition and from James Madison University in Virginia (B.M.) in composition. Primary composition teachers have included John S. Hilliard, Paul Rudy, Zhou Long, James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Claude Baker, Narcis Bonet, Michel Merlet, and João Pedro Oliveira. His piano teachers have included Patricia Brady and Karen Kushner. Topher maintains a piano studio of 22 students.

Having recently completed a Master's thesis on the beautiful complexities of Chinary Ung's trio, Spiral I, Topher turned his writing attention to the more informal blogging medium. He has taken to it quite well, sharing posts on strange and wonderful music and art found across the web with a modest but growing number of blog followers. He looks forward to writing for KCM and sharing with its readers the stories of all the amazing musicians performing in Kansas City.