On October 22, 2016, I had the opportunity to attended a piano recital performed by Vadym Kholodenko, the 2013 Van Cliburn gold medalist. Although I have attended many concerts before, I had never been to a piano recital. Honestly, I have to say that I did not think that I would enjoy it as much as I did.
The concert began at 7:30. The stage of the Mary Alice Marshall Performing Arts seemed empty on that evening, due to the fact that it had nothing but a beautiful grand piano. However, everything changed when Mr. Kholodenko entered the stage and took his place in front of the piano. The program showed that the performance would include pieces by Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Alexander Scriabin.
The sound filled the entire auditorium As Mr. Kholodenko began to play the first chord of Chopin’s Berceuse, op. 57,. Chopin’s Berceuse or cradle-song is considered to be a character piece along with many other of his works. It was written in the Summer of 1843 during the Romantic era. Throughout the entirety of the piece, the elaborate figurations of the melody are accompanied by a static, repetitive pattern of lower notes in the left hand; something that would make the berceuse a homophonic piece. The berceuse, in order to keep the demands of a true lullaby, sticks to a piano and pianissimo dynamic. …show more content…
This provides a smooth, soft texture that makes the piece sound beautiful and delicate. The piece is marked as andante, because, like I said, the piece is supposed to represent a cradle-song and it is intended to be played slow and soft.
After the Berceuse, Mr. Kholodenko went on to play four Nocturnes; Nocturne in G Minor, op. 37, no. 1, Nocturne in G Major, op. 37, no. 2, Nocturne in C Minor, op. 48, no. 1, and Nocturne in F-sharp Minor, Op. 48, no. 2.
The nocturnes, “songs of the night,” are perfectly suited to the mood of the Romantic Era. Their name can be associated with romantic images of the night, the moon, and all the types of lyrical and dramatic expressions that can be associated with them.
The nocturnes in this performance are character pieces that follow the Ternary form ABA.
Nocturne in G Minor is marked as andante and it follows a piano – mezzoforte dynamic. The warm, mellow, and comforting timbre of the piano gives the piece a velvety texture that lingers in the mind of the listener. This homophonic piece had a very sweet sounding melody and the chords appeared to be communicating with each other throughout the entirety of the piece. There were moments where the melody felt utterly silent, making it feel like it was frozen. Moments later, however, the nostalgic melody returned. Nocturne in G Major is marked as andante as well but, unlike Nocturne in G Minor, this piece follows a piano dynamic. The smooth, flowing manner in which the piece is played makes the melody sound serene. As if it were being played in an atmosphere of some peculiar kind of dreaminess. Nocturne in G Major contains two themes, however, my absolute favorite was the second theme. Although I find it hard to explain, I think that the reasons I liked the second theme so much was because of the simplicity and the calming feeling that it gave me when I heard it. In my opinion, Mr. Kholodenko literally made the piano sing with this piece. The timbre of the piano in Nocturne in C Minor was dark and somber. The piece sounded like it was full of profound meaning. Like it had been written to express loss and grief. There was some dissonance with the lower chords that were being played but I enjoyed listening to them because added to the dark and somber feel that this piece gave. The opening notes of the melody do not flow, but fall in between rests. With the subtlety of the tone and the deceptively simple sounding chords, this piece sounds clean, expressive, and very emotional. Nocturne in F-sharp Minor was one of my favorite pieces in the whole performance. It begins delicately and simple with a vocal-like melody in the right hand and an accompaniment of broken chords in the left hand. All while its hollow texture makes it sound foggy and mysterious. In this piece, the
The concert began at 7:30. The stage of the Mary Alice Marshall Performing Arts seemed empty on that evening, due to the fact that it had nothing but a beautiful grand piano. However, everything changed when Mr. Kholodenko entered the stage and took his place in front of the piano. The program showed that the performance would include pieces by Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Alexander Scriabin.
The sound filled the entire auditorium As Mr. Kholodenko began to play the first chord of Chopin’s Berceuse, op. 57,. Chopin’s Berceuse or cradle-song is considered to be a character piece along with many other of his works. It was written in the Summer of 1843 during the Romantic era. Throughout the entirety of the piece, the elaborate figurations of the melody are accompanied by a static, repetitive pattern of lower notes in the left hand; something that would make the berceuse a homophonic piece. The berceuse, in order to keep the demands of a true lullaby, sticks to a piano and pianissimo dynamic. …show more content…
This provides a smooth, soft texture that makes the piece sound beautiful and delicate. The piece is marked as andante, because, like I said, the piece is supposed to represent a cradle-song and it is intended to be played slow and soft.
After the Berceuse, Mr. Kholodenko went on to play four Nocturnes; Nocturne in G Minor, op. 37, no. 1, Nocturne in G Major, op. 37, no. 2, Nocturne in C Minor, op. 48, no. 1, and Nocturne in F-sharp Minor, Op. 48, no. 2.
The nocturnes, “songs of the night,” are perfectly suited to the mood of the Romantic Era. Their name can be associated with romantic images of the night, the moon, and all the types of lyrical and dramatic expressions that can be associated with them.
The nocturnes in this performance are character pieces that follow the Ternary form ABA.
Nocturne in G Minor is marked as andante and it follows a piano – mezzoforte dynamic. The warm, mellow, and comforting timbre of the piano gives the piece a velvety texture that lingers in the mind of the listener. This homophonic piece had a very sweet sounding melody and the chords appeared to be communicating with each other throughout the entirety of the piece. There were moments where the melody felt utterly silent, making it feel like it was frozen. Moments later, however, the nostalgic melody returned. Nocturne in G Major is marked as andante as well but, unlike Nocturne in G Minor, this piece follows a piano dynamic. The smooth, flowing manner in which the piece is played makes the melody sound serene. As if it were being played in an atmosphere of some peculiar kind of dreaminess. Nocturne in G Major contains two themes, however, my absolute favorite was the second theme. Although I find it hard to explain, I think that the reasons I liked the second theme so much was because of the simplicity and the calming feeling that it gave me when I heard it. In my opinion, Mr. Kholodenko literally made the piano sing with this piece. The timbre of the piano in Nocturne in C Minor was dark and somber. The piece sounded like it was full of profound meaning. Like it had been written to express loss and grief. There was some dissonance with the lower chords that were being played but I enjoyed listening to them because added to the dark and somber feel that this piece gave. The opening notes of the melody do not flow, but fall in between rests. With the subtlety of the tone and the deceptively simple sounding chords, this piece sounds clean, expressive, and very emotional. Nocturne in F-sharp Minor was one of my favorite pieces in the whole performance. It begins delicately and simple with a vocal-like melody in the right hand and an accompaniment of broken chords in the left hand. All while its hollow texture makes it sound foggy and mysterious. In this piece, the