‍

Three pianists and three familiar concertos has been the format for the Miami International Piano Festival’s season opener for the past several years.

This season’s iteration of “Concerto Night” Sunday at the Aventura Arts and Culture Center was different. Only one of the three works performed could be remotely considered part of the standard repertoire. Two worthy scores from the fringes of keyboard-orchestral literature were given rare performances. These pieces are almost never programmed anywhere, least of all in South Florida. The quality of music making was consistently high Even a brief failure of the stage lighting could not dampen the performances’ impact.

Igor Gruppman returned to Miami to helm the orchestra. Gruppman was concertmaster of the defunct Florida Philharmonic Orchestra in its final decade. He has recently retired from a long tenure as concertmaster of the Rotterdam Philharmonic. Gruppman has also pursued a conducting career. Directing a 31-member ensemble of top local freelance players, Gruppman exuded authority, drawing strong and unified performances and collaborating adeptly with the soloists.

Russian pianist Vyacheslav Gryaznov opened the program with the concert’s most familiar offering, Mozart’s Concerto No. 12 in A Major. While not as frequently programmed as the later Mozart concertos, this opus has been played increasingly over the last three decades and for good reason. The concerto brims with high spirits, memorable thematic material and opportunities for the keyboard soloist to display his technique.  

Gryaznov demonstrated a fine sense of classical style, with sprightly and clear articulation. He tackled  the first movement’s cadenza in a more idiosyncratic manner than many players, drawing out phrases and pointing up the contrasts of major and minor thematic variants. These personal touches proved effective, bringing character to the reading.

Gryaznov’s pearl-like tone probed the darker currents beneath the graceful surface of the Andante. The pianist’s enlivening buoyancy was perfect for the concluding Allegro, one of Mozart’s most delightful movements. A thrusting, rapidly executed ride through the final cadenza brought the performance to a vibrant conclusion.

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) bridged the classical and romantic eras. He was a pupil of Haydn, Mozart, Salieri and Clementi but his music has more in common with Chopin than his teachers. Brooding motifs and florid pianistic sparks run through his Concerto No. 2 in A minor. This work is a true virtuoso showpiece that demands a pianist with bravura bona fides and the sensitivity to bend melodies with fluency while not allowing the structure to fragment.

Spanish-Dutch pianist Albert Cano Smit impressed last spring with deeply nuanced and dramatic performances of late sonatas by Schubert and Beethoven. Assaying the Hummel concerto for the first time, he was fully in command of the score’s requirements.

In the elongated instrumental prelude to the opening Allegro moderato, Gruppman struck the right balance between tension and grace. Smit drew myriad shadings from the Steinway, offering poetry rather than percussive bombast in even the flashiest episodes. He exhibited a lithe touch in the brief Larghetto and executed the final Rondo’s whirlwind of notes with top precision while bringing flexibility to the lyrical contrasts. Gruppman was fully supportive while bringing forth orchestral details. Vanessa Fourla’s silver-toned flute solo was especially distinguished.

About three quarters of the way through the final Allegro moderato, the stage lights went out. Smit and the players attempted to continue playing but had to stop after about a minute, unable to see their scores. In about two minutes, the stage was relit and Smit and Gruppman backed up a couple of pages, resuming the performance without losing momentum. If anything, Smit seemed to be bringing more intensity to the fore. He received a cheering ovation for this worthy revival.

Leaving the best for last, Belgian-born Florian Noack took the stage for Mendelssohn’s Concerto No. 2 in D minor. This work is actually musically and formally superior to Mendelssohn’s more frequently heard First Concerto. The main reason it is not played more often is that it is a technical minefield, replete with rapid passagework and knuckle-busting complexities.

Noack has specialized in transcribing orchestral showpieces for solo piano so taking on a challenging score is part of his musical DNA. In the initial Allegro appassionato, he displayed sterling technique, running through the rapid arpeggiated segments with aplomb. Noack also probed the depths of Mendelssohn’s font of melodic inspiration, bringing out the music’s darker subtext. He was at his fiery best in the Presto scherzando finale which brimmed with bright flights of bravura. An exuberant swirl through the concerto’s final pages capped a reading rich in both pyrotechnics and musicality. Noack was the only one of the three solo artists repeatedly recalled to the stage, concluding the refreshingly warhorse-free program on a high note.

‍