|
"Presenting Francesco Libetta"
This disc presents a concert performed in February 2000 at
the Miami International Piano Festival of Discovery. This
program consists mostly of virtuoso showpieces calculated
to display the pianist's technical resources, which are impressive
indeed. After performing two of Respighi's transcriptions
of Renaissance music, Libetta tosses off two of Godowsky's
notorious Studies on the Chopin Etudes (which are even more
difficult to play than the originals). Ravel's piano arrangement
of his La Valse calls for extremes of facility and tonal color,
and Libetta provides both in abundance. We may be getting
used to pianists with amazing facility, but a rich and varied
sound is still a rarity. Color is the main quality required
to pull off Debussy's Estampes, and Libetta gives us a thoroughly
convincing performance. In two Liszt opera transcriptions,
he plays with wonderful sweep and clarity, and with a delicious
sound. One of his encores, Saint-Saëns' Etude in Waltz Form,
will have pianophiles raving.
Still unknown is whether Libetta chose his program to impress
the audience or because he knows his own limitations — none
of these selections requires the interpretive intelligence
a pianist needs to give convincing performances of Bach, Beethoven,
Mozart, or Brahms. Libetta will have to cut his teeth on more
intellectually demanding music to determine whether he's a
major artist or just another pianistic pretty face, but the
performances on this disc are definitely worth hearing.
end
|
