Mendelssohn - Brahms - Chopin /
Granados - Ravel - Debussy - Villa-Lobos - Viana
Cristina Ortiz, piano
This was very much a recital in two parts. The first was solid 19th Century Romantic, with Mendelssohn's Op. 54 Variations sérieuses a very sober start to proceedings, though immediately demonstrating Ortiz's virtuosity. The two Brahms Intermezzi that followed demonstrated another noticeable aspect of her playing, her rhythmic freedom. Much of the time, this was perfectly defensible, but there were moments when it got a bit eccentric, and the first of the two Brahms pieces, the Op. 117 No. 2, suffered, its flow unnecessarily broken.
Four Chopin etudes from the second set concluded the first half, and if No. 4 came across as rather too aggressive, the last, No. 12, had real sweep and clarity. Ortiz is a powerful player, and pedals very expertly; what would be normal pedalling for a concert hall would easily turn the piano sound to mush in the resonant acoustic of a church, but that was never a problem tonight.
The second part brought us into the 20th Century, and began with a splendidly soulful reading of Granados's The Maiden and the Nightingale, which made me wish we were getting the complete set of Goyescas (all too rarely heard). Ravel's Alborada del Gracioso also suffered from the wayward timing, as well as a memory gap, but Debussy's Reflets dans l'Eau made for a beautifully serene contrast.
Then Ortiz paid homage to her Brazilian roots, though I'm pretty sure there are more interesting pieces of Villa-Lobos for piano than A Lenda do Caboblo. However, she also introduced us to the music of Frutuoso Viana, and if the first piece, the "Spanish Serenade" also passed a little by the wayside, it certainly wasn't the case for the fireworks of Corta Jaca, or the rumbustious Dança de negros played as an encore.
Speaking of encores, Ortiz was very generous with hers, giving us three of them; the Viana to conclude, a Fauré Impromptu first, and a shimmering reading of Rachmaninov's Op. 32 No. 12 Prelude.
[Next : 4th August]
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