6th Singapore International Piano Festival: Demidenko
6th Singapore International Piano Festival
‘Celebrating Chopin’
Tuesday 6 July, 1999
Victoria Concert Hall
CHOPIN Four Ballades
LISZT Waltz and Capriccio on two themes from Lucia & Parisina, after Donizetti S401
LISZT Ballade no.2 in B minor
LISZT Etude no.5 “La Chasse” S140
LISZT Etude no.3 “La Campanella” S140
LISZT Concert Paraphrase of Verdi’s Rigoletto S434
Nikolai Demidenko piano
onight’s programme is conveniently divided into Chopin in the first half and Liszt in the second. As would be evident later on, there is no doubt about which half I enjoyed myself most, and felt Demidenko to be totally in his element.
Nikolai Demidenko arguably has, as virtuosos go, among the most phenomenal technique these days — and coupled with temperamental and fiery interpretations, he makes perfect fodder for virtuoso pianist-composers like Liszt and the Russian Late Romantics. However, the four Chopin Ballades that he started with were expected to give him an opportunity to express his lyrical side, and at the same time give the audience an idea of how Chopin’s musical ideas and compositional skills evolved as the composer matured from travelling pianist into national hero.
Despite the fact that Chopin probably steered the piano world into Romanticism, he was really a purist at heart and never gave his works more than functional names, like “Scherzo” or “Nocturne”. Likewise, his Ballades, which are widely alluded to as describing epic tales of wildly differing content, have no actual programmatic input from the composer himself. The interpretation of his works would then rely on the musicality of the performer, of how much the performer knew and felt, and capable of realising on an actual keyboard. Though Demidenko was really more than adequate at giving Chopin’s technical writing a virtuosic airing, I believe these four pieces were meant more as dramatic poems rather than simple flights of fantasy, and as such merited more than a cursory reading.
The Ballades were written at different periods in Chopin’s life, with the result that the first Ballade has an easy melody with conveniently flashy embellishments; the last has more unconventional thematic material, and relies heavily on the pianist’s ability to create colourful nuances as a storyteller rather than on dazzling technique. Demidenko fared well in the first Ballade; he in no way toned down his wanton virtuosity for Chopin, who in this piece wrote with matching technical brilliance. The contrast between idyll and nightmare was also effectively stark in the Second Ballade; yet, in the two later Ballades, one would have felt that more sensitivity in bringing out Chopin’s minute nuances could make all the difference. Demidenko was undeniably a passionate player, but his interpretation of the Ballades was, I felt, more one-dimensional than enlightening or even illustrative.
The second half was more suited to Demidenko’s style and he really outshone himself. Franz Liszt, though composing in the same period as Chopin, developed improvisation and harmony to a more advanced degree, if only because he was more of a showman and also lived longer. But the early and middle-aged Liszt was essentially a fire-breathing dragon, contemporary of the devil of the bow, Paganini. Pianist-composers generally write in a comfortable playing style for themselves, and it was no wonder that Liszt, with “fingers of steel”, and who legendarily broke piano strings during a recital, wrote such technically difficult pieces in his youth that perhaps only he himself could bring them to their full potential and expressivity. However, no matter how elaborate or dense the ornamentation, the genius of Liszt was always able to prevent technique from obscuring the essence of thematic development – something Demidenko was able to do, after conquering the impossibilities of the hellish fingerwork.
But Demidenko went one step further – instead of playing Liszt’s pieces as were written, he re-invented most of them, giving the audience a glimpse of how Liszt the virtuoso worked. For most of these pieces were themselves paraphrases of others: operas by Donizetti and Verdi, and violin pieces by Paganini. One of Liszt’s purposes in writing transcriptions, besides making available for pianists what was originally orchestral repertoire, was to provide a outlet for his own overwhelming skills at improvisation and virtuosity. It is this aspect of Liszt that Demidenko unreservedly demonstrates tonight, as he began each piece as written, then proceeded to disappear into his own flights of fantasy, tossing off running octaves and flowing argeggios, riveting the audience with his fingers that could scorch keys and melt notes. Demidenko had suddenly transformed into Liszt in his prodigal heyday!
Demidenko obliged with four encores: two Scarlatti pieces spaced by two Rachmaninov Preludes (Op.23, no.2 and no.7 – both pieces of outspoken virtuosity), perhaps following the style of another firebrand, the late Vladimir Horowitz, who favoured playing Scarlatti and Rachmaninov for encores as well. The two Rachmaninov Preludes were performed with plenty of Demidenk-ian technique tied to a Russian heart, a seamless recipe for the composer himself. The Scarlatti Sonatas were delightful in their miniaturity as well, though of course with plenty of Demidenko thrown in.
Overall, Demidenko seems to have surpassed his own technical brilliance and white-hot passion, but I would just prefer to hear, and feel, more intimate nuances and subtle colours when pieces call for it. Just like Icarus who, enraptured in his own joy, tried to fly too near the sun and as a result fell to his death when his wax wings melted, I wonder if Demidenko would eventually reach the pinnacle of firebrand virtuosity only to dispossess the rest of pianism; or if he could continue to advance in his maturity of touch and sensitivity, giving a balanced and nuanced performances. Many top-notch pianists have realised this at some point in their lives, and took pains to eschew ultimate virtuosity in order to develop their own musical maturity; including Horowitz, Argerich, Van Cliburn, and no less, the legendary Franz Liszt himself.
