| The Miami International Piano Festival is now in its eighth year. Returning to the Broward Center's Amaturo Theater Saturday was Italian pianist Emanuele Arciuli in a program of considerable interest.
To begin with, Arciuli stayed within traditional territory, opening with a romantically phrased performance of Haydn's moving Andante and Variations in F minor. Every note was carefully weighed for volume and expressive impact, and every note fit perfectly into the pianist's design for the piece.
There was much beauty that carried forth into the six selections from Grieg's Lyric Pieces. Especially felicitous were the Arietta, Little Bird and Erotik. The well-known To Spring emerged as a seasonal triumph, with little held back in playing of strength and depth. Phantom was interesting for its harmonic and melodic similarities to music of Grieg's close friend Frederick Delius. Only in the concluding Wedding Day at Troldhaugen did Arciuli's penchant for emotive expression turn into affectation as rhythms were unmercifully pulled apart.
Beethoven's penultimate Sonata No. 31 in A flat shows the deaf composer in the act of deconstructing accepted forms of the day. Arciuli's refined and romantic approach worked fairly well, but a tighter rein on the proceedings would have benefited the composer.
Canadian composer Yehudi Wyner was present for the performance of five sections from his New Fantasies and Post Fantasies. The music showed various influences -- Debussy, Berg, William Bolcom and Gershwin. What did not emerge was any discernible creative originality, as jazz elements and pop chords rubbed shoulders uneasily with Impressionist and Expressionist elements. The amorphous results cannot have been easy to learn, but Arciuli seemed to savor the challenge.
The concluding work, Phrygian Gates by John Adams, has to be a real knuckle-breaker for any pianist. At about 22 minutes, this piece of minimalism plods on endlessly and repetitively towards its climax. The usual standing ovation and bravos were, in this case, well deserved.
Alan Becker is a Davie-based freelance writer.
Copyright © 2005, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
|
