| Fredric
Chopin (1810-1849) was the ultimate pianist’s composer.
His elegant, passionate romantic music reinvented the instrument
as we know it and gave birth to a new breed of piano virtuoso.
Eight of his concert “Etudes,” Opus 10 and Opus
25 (formidable tests of a pianist’s technique) were
the piece de resistance at an impressive recital by the Croatian
pianist Kemal Gekic on October 24 at the new Steinway Concert
Hall in Coral Gables.
The Steinway auditorium is a wonderful new performance venue.
The intimacy of the hall allows for an unusual rapport between
audience and artist. Acoustics are bright and clear. The sound
has real immediacy. Every nuance is clearly audible. This
is definitely an artist friendly venue.
Chopin’s “Etudes” were the perfect demonstration
work for this lovely new space. Gekic has never been a generic
type of pianist. Too many keyboard players play Chopin’s
music at one generalized volume and in a literal, unimaginative
manner. By contrast Gekic brings a refreshingly adventurous
approach to this music. He is a larger than life artistic
personality. In Gekic’s superb hands a full dynamic
range was on display. Minute gradations of volume were clearly
audible. Gekic can play a real pianissimo. (Many pianists
will not even attempt it.) Every bar of Chopin’s music
was imbued with intense passion, romantic ardor, and musical
refinement. Gekic’s phrasing was often unconventional,
but always marked by stellar musicianship and artistic taste.
The famous “Revolutionary Etude” emerged as a
tumultuous, large scale romantic statement rather than the
mere display piece it can become in lesser hands. The pearl
like sensitivity of Gekic’s pianistic touch is unique.
Here were truly great Chopin performances!
If Gekic’s versions of Franz Schubert’s “Impromptu,”
Opus 142, No.2 and “Impromptu,” Opus 90, No.2
seemed closer to Chopin than to the Austro-German romantic
tradition, his approach was always intensely musical. He brought
a wealth of tonal coloration to these deceptively simple miniatures.
Gekic found the romanticism beneath the austere surface of
Mozart’s “Fantasy in C Minor,” K.475. Clarity
and precision were the hallmark of this performance. Every
tone rang full and true – masterful Mozart.
Franz Liszt’s “Reminiscences de Don Juan”
has become a Gekic signature piece. Liszt’s score is
more than just a medley of themes from Mozart’s “Don
Giovanni.” In a series of technically daunting variations,
Liszt paints a portrait of seduction, crime, and punishment
– Mozart’s opera in miniature. Every strand of
the composer’s contrapuntal writing was clear and precisely
weighted in Gekic’s whirlwind performance. Liszt’s
intricate piano writing held no terrors for this artist. Here
was quintessential Gekic – fire, charm, delicacy, and
drama in equal measure. As an encore, Debussy’s “Clair
de Lune” received an exquisite performance. The light,
ethereal tones Gekic produced were the essence of musical
impressionism.
Since his memorable debut in 1999 at the Miami International
Piano Festival (which produced this concert), Kemal Gekic
has made a major contribution to South Florida’s musical
life as both performing artist and teacher (at Florida International
University). Every Gekic performance is an “event.”
It was exciting to hear him in this wonderful new concert
venue in Coral Gables.
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