Kobrin Dazzles!
by
Lyn Bronson
The concert season began with a
bang last night as the Mozart Society of California presented recent Van Cliburn
International Piano Competition gold medalist Alexander Kobrin, who blazed his
way through some of the great treasures of the piano repertoire. Anyone arriving
at Sunset Center for the event noticed that there was a long line of people
waiting to purchase tickets. This was a sure sign that in addition to season
subscribers of the Mozart Society, piano buffs of the Monterey Peninsula were
there in strength, as well as some young students.
The major work on the evening’s
program was Chopin’s Op. 10 — twelve etudes, which are not only some of the most
technically demanding works, but also some of the most beautiful in the
repertoire. To play them in order presents additional difficulties, because, for
example, the first one in C Major requires the right hand to be constantly
expanding and contracting, while the second on in A Minor, requires the right
hand to be scrunched up as the pianist has to play rapid chromatic scales
constantly using the weak fourth and fifth fingers of the right hand. Kobrin did
not take the easy way by rearranging the order of the etudes, but played them
through in order with minimal pauses in between. This apparently was Chopin’s
intention, for after the beautiful slow Etude in E Major, Chopin wrote in the
score Attacca il presto con fuoco, directing the pianist to immediately,
without pause, launch into the Etude in C-sharp Minor, a non plus ultra
of difficult finger technique.
Kobrin occasionally proved he
was human as we observed that some of these etudes were difficult, even for him,
but overall he vanquished them in a spectacularly easy manner. There were
several of the twelve studies that were outstandingly successful, and especially
impressive were the last two of the set, the one in e-flat major with
arpeggiated chords and the great “Revolutionary Etude.” You won’t often hear
these pieces played any better.
The concert began with Mozart’s
Sonata in D Major, K. 576, sometimes called “The Hunt” Sonata because of its
introductory suggestion of hunting horns. This is one of the more difficult
Mozart sonatas containing thorny contrapuntal writing that can easily get the
fingers in a twist. Not so with Mr. Kobrin, for his passages were crystal clear
and consistently masterful.
One of the special treats on the
evening’s program was the rarely-heard Haydn Variations in F Minor. This lovely
piece allowed Kobrin to spin some magic, especially in the lovely, dramatic
coda.
The other major work on the
program was Beethoven’s Sonata in A-flat Major, Op. 110, and right from the
opening measures (the first page was beautifully shaped with gorgeous
cantabile), and in the faster movements we heard masterful playing that was
beautifully styled and effortlessly executed.
There were some curious aspects
of this concert. Kobrin’s playing had a lack of warmth and repose in the slow
movements of the Mozart and Beethoven Sonatas. There was also a brittle quality
to fast sixteenth-note passages in the Mozart Sonata’s outer movements, and
these sections were slightly too loud and aggressive, so that they didn’t “flow
like oil.”
Contributing to the chilly sound
may possibly have been the instrument used in this concert, a Yamaha CFIIIS
concert grand, provided gratis by the Yamaha Company. Most artists who play the
Yamaha in concert are jazz artists (Yamaha was the official piano of the recent
Monterey Jazz Festival), and pianos used in jazz concerts with amplified
instruments tend to be bright, bold and brassy. There is a reason why the
world’s greatest pianists play the Steinway — its sound tends to remain mellow
even when pushed to its limits.
Kobrin received an enthusiastic
prolonged standing ovation and rewarded the audience with two encores, a
movement from a Haydn Sonata and one of the sections from Schumann’s
Kreisleriana.
