| It has been said that the only problem with child prodigies is that they grow up. Can they live up to their reputation after they leave the world of childhood?
This remains to be seen in the case of Chinese pianist Rachel Cheung. At the age of 13, the Hong Kong-born musician has already performed widely and won many first prizes, including the Ukraine's International Competition for Young Pianists in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz.
Sponsored by the Miami International Piano Festival, Thursday's concert at the Broward Center's Amaturo Theater showed the young pianist to especially good advantage in a varied and challenging program ranging from Bach to Prokofiev.
Opening with Bach's demanding Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, Cheung displayed a technical facility that made this finger-breaker sound easy. This extended to Haydn's Piano Sonata in E-flat as well. A certain daintiness and lighthearted joy replaced the usual impetuosity in the final Rondo, but everything sounded a little too studied. Chording was carefully weighed, releases precise, and harshness totally eliminated.
Franz Liszt's two Etudes and Aubord d'une source demonstrated Cheung's mastery in tackling cross-hand passages with shimmering lightness. Errors were simply nonexistent as the music sang forth with astounding accuracy.
The selection of Chopin's early Variations Brilliantes in B flat was a good choice, since this piece is rarely heard and a fine example of salon music at its best. The playing sparkled in its effortless freedom from any hint of strain. Continuing to that master of modulation Gabriel Faure, Cheung tackled a Nocturne, Barcarolle, and Impromptu, making a thing of great beauty out of each. This is subtle music, and the playing matched all of the composer's nuances and shadings to perfection.
Prokofiev's Sonata No. 3 in A minor is the composer's briefest entry in that genre, packing all of his diabolical and motoric tricks into seven minutes. Cheung showed a willingness to attack this music with a little more ferocity, but all was kept within the bounds of avoiding ugliness.
This was an uncommonly impressive recital, yet it remains to be seen whether in the coming years Rachel Cheung's flawless technical skill moves beyond studied precision to find an individual artistic voice.
Alan Becker is a Davie-based freelance writer.
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