| This recital from
Lecce, Italy took place March 22, 2002 at the Paisiello Theatre
and celebrates the artistry of Francesco Libetta (b. 1968),
Italy's answer to the romantic image of the late Dino Ciani,
along with something of the intellectual breadth of Pietro
Scarpini. The concert of varied music is interspersed with
commentary by scholars and artists on Libetta's vision and
inwardness at the keyboard. "The Dance" provides
a loose rubric for the concert, even including Beethoven's
knotty figures in the E-flat Sonata from Op. 31, which in
its Menuetto achieves exalted moments of meditation and cloying
humor.
Libetta is a fleet virtuoso, and his polish
and quicksilver demeanor recall the glistening moments from
Van Cliburn. Libetta's playing touches more deeply, however,
and his capacity for colors suggests that intensive development
and introspection might produce another Michelangeli. Much
of the artistry revealed here is lovely and fluent, easy and
naturally graceful. The Ravel solo transcription of La Valse
has all kinds of applications at the palette that convince
you that you have heard the orchestra rather than a single
piano. The little Passepied of Delibes, a mere bagatelle,
manages to evince some real character.
For the big piece, the muscular and punishing
contours of the Brahms Paganini Variations, Libetta brings
brains as well as plenty of fingers. Libetta is very careful
to give shape to phrase lengths, always suggesting a dialogue
or dialectic--this is particularly true in his Beethoven Sonata.
Grueling octaves, shifts of registration, awkward chords in
thirds and sixths, huge spans of an eleventh or thirteenth,
Libetta passes off with flair and heroic abandon. So, the
"Heroic" Polonaise assumes the pomp and glamour
it warrants under the hands of a believer. The Mazurka dedicated
to Emile Gaillard, like the Delibes, has that music-box piquancy
that Michelangeli perfected in the music of Galuppi. For sylvan
grace and pearly legato, we have Chaminade, Debussy and Saint-Saens,
fluidly enticing us to the world of dreams. The Chopin showpieces,
the somber Tarantella and the circus-piece Souvenir de Paganini
(on The Carnival of Venice), place the mantle of Horowitz
on an Italian artist of discrimination and exemplary digital
prowess
The visual aspects of the recital are somewhat
somber, given the darkness of the hall, and the use of constant
medium shots front on to the stage. Occasionally, we get a
side shot of Libetta's profile at the keyboard, a bit of audience
response, once or twice we see the interior of the piano's
sounding board. Lecce is a small, rural town with its one
amphitheater and its one star, Francesco Libetta, whom the
interviewed townspeople treat with deference and nervous awe.
The commentary by musicologist Pastore proved the most interesting,
with his analogies to Chaliapin and Mitropoulos. Buy the recital
for the fingers. Purchase Here
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