Bruce Liu at Carnegie Hall – Tchaikovsky, Scriabin and Prokofiev

Tchaikovsky
The Seasons, Op.37a
Swan Lake – ‘Dance of the Four Swans’ [arr. Earl Wild]

Scriabin
Piano Sonata No.4 in F-sharp, Op.30

Prokofiev
Piano Sonata No.7 in B-flat, Op.83

Bruce Liu (piano)

Two years after his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall, Bruce Liu returned with an evocative all-Russian program. The evening opened with a poetic rendition of the first six miniatures in Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, leaving the remaining six to be performed in the second half. A more accurate title for the work would be ‘The Months’. When first published in 1876 by a Russian magazine, they appeared serially, each number paired with a seasonally appropriate snippet of verse. The year opens in a peaceful, cozy mood with the rubato-rich ‘At the Fireside’, turns sprightly and dissonant in February’s ‘Carnival’, and becomes melancholy in the delicately rendered ‘Song of the Lark’. April’s ‘Snowdrop’, a charming waltz, is followed by the arpeggio-studded ‘White Nights’ of May, and June is represented by a gently rocking barcarolle. Liu’s elegant playing, clearly articulated and free of mannerisms, captured the distinctive mood of each piece.

Earl Wild’s Tchaikovsky transcription replaced Rachmaninoff’s arrangement of the Scherzo from Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. n Liu’s hands the picturesque pas de quatre, mimicking baby swans seemed more like another entry in Tchaikovsky’s musical almanac.

Next came a captivating performance of Scriabin’s resplendently romantic Fourth Piano Sonata. With his flexible approach to tempo and a wide dynamic range, the pianist deftly balanced the moments of lyrical beauty with the more dramatic sections. As a tenderly thoughtful Andante segued seamlessly into a turbulent Prestissimo volando, he displayed extraordinary skill navigating the rapid runs, pulsating chords and complex rhythms.

Returning to Tchaikovsky’s calendar collection, Liu took a suitably affable approach to July’s jovial ‘Song of the Reaper’ with its bold sounds suggesting the swinging of a scythe. August’s ‘Harvest’ made it easy to picture a field full of hearty workers, while the September movement, ‘Hunting’, had a strongly heroic feel.  October’s ‘Autumn Song’ was tinged with melancholy, but things turned festive in November as the calm opening of ‘Troika’ built to pianistic fireworks. A gay waltz, ‘Christmas’, brought the year to a festive close.

The highlight was the fiery rendering of Prokofiev’s turbulent Seventh Sonata. Consistently tasteful and masterly, Liu’s superb interpretation was filled with drama, the constantly changing moods communicating a sense of turmoil even within the seemingly calmer passages. The suspenseful tempo of the intense opening Allegro inquietoconveyed a feeling of unease before shifting to the slower, thoughtful second theme. A Chopinesque delivery of the central Andante calorosooffered a brief respite. Liu had no trouble maintaining musicality whiledealing with the complex rhythms and rapid notes of  the technically demanding Precipitato, which came across as a final flare-up of anxiety before collapsing in exhaustion.

There were four encores, two by Chopin – a lovely Waltz in A and a lilting Fantasie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor, a sparkling Les cyclopes by Rameau and an exuberant rendition of Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag.