A few weeks ago, I attended a solo piano recital by Kirill Gerstein. I am not necessarily following individual performers, but as I was randomly browsing what to do for this particular evening, I noticed that he would be giving a recital in the Kammermusiksaal of the Berliner Philharmoniker, and knowing that he is someone who really knows his craft, I figured it would be a good idea to get tickets, even though the program isn't necessarily my favourite musical period.
I am told that Gerstein is a "musician's pianist" who often champions the complex and the intellectual, which aligns with my own musical taste and background. However, the repertoire for this specific recital was firmly rooted in the high-Romantic era. And this type of classical music is something that I don't have high affinity with. He played two pieces by Franz Liszt, and after the pause, he played two pieces by Johannes Brahms. I have more familiarity with the Liszt pieces than the Brahms pieces, and that also reflected which piees I enjoyed more.
First, he played Franz Liszt's Tre Sonetti del Petrarca. These three pieces (Nos. 47, 104, and 123 from Années de pèlerinage: Italie) are transcriptions of Liszt's own songs. They are quintessential examples of "instrumental bel canto." The music is deeply lyrical, introspective, and focuses on the piano’s ability to "sing" through delicate ornamentation and rubato. I actually have high familiarity with these three sonnets as once I had a piano, which had a player function. I remember having these three sonnets as some of the tracks that my player piano could play on its own. Now, yes these pieces are beautiful, but these feel too "classical for the masses" for my taste, given that it is oozing with pure, sentimental lyricism. And I typically bypass these types of pieces.
Then he played Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata. This was gripping. Known as the "Dante Sonata," this is a massive, one-movement work representing the terrors of hell. It is harmonically daring for its time, utilizing the tritone (the "devil in music") and aggressive, percussive octaves. It is more of a tone poem for piano than a traditional sonata. I think that this is the "edgiest" Liszt gets. As I enjoyed Busoni's gargantuan concerto and the percussive energy of Ginastera and Xenakis, the demonic intensity and structural ambition of the Dante Sonata does appeal to me. It has the "weight" and drama I appreciate in larger orchestral works.
After the intermission, Gernstein played Johannes Brahms' Scherzo in E-flat minor, Op. 4. This is "Young Brahms" at his most fiery. Written when he was just 18, it is a restless, dark, and rhythmically obsessive piece. It lacks the "stodgy" academicism some find in his later works and instead embraces a quasi-demonic energy. I enjoyed it.
The last piece was Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5, which is a five-movement "symphony in disguise." It is physically massive and intellectually dense, featuring a "Rückblick" (look back) movement and a finale that weaves complex thematic transformations. It is an architecture of sound. However, it actually reminds me of Bruckner's symphonies, and I have to say I have a low tolerance for sprawling German Romanticism. I have to say, though, Gerstein played this with his typical clarity and structural focus, so I do appreciate the "logic" of the piece, even if the musical language isn't contemporary.
Overall, I have to say that I enjoyed the evening. I am a listener who thrives on the "new" and the "complex". While the composers on this program are dead, the performer and the scale of the works made it a worthwhile choice. I do hope, however, that the next time Gernstein has a recital, he selects more contemporary pieces for the program.
