This week I have had an opportunity to attend concert of the pianist Kwan Yi. Despite his young age, Yi is rather famous an astonishing performer. He performed throughout Europe and Asia and the United States. Yi is an awarded by the National Federation of Music Clubs in the United States. Special mention was made of him as well in Italy and in Japan.
The concert lasted for more than 2 hours. During the performance Kwan Li covered a lot of classical pieces varying in age style, tempo and the composers. However every single piece had unique style to it, his performance sounded sharp and soft at the same time. The concert was perfectly tuned, the volume of the concert was moderate, it was nothing like a rock concert or pop concert, it was rather quite I would say. There are this classical performances that overwhelm you with power and richness of sound, the performance of Kwan Yi just soothes you with this gentle sound, yet it is well able to catch the attention of the listener.
Ludwig van Beethoven dedicated his Piano Sonata, Opus 7 (or so called Grand Sonata) to Babette Countess Keglevics, his favorite student (1797). Structure of the piece consists of four movements: Allegro molto e con brio in E-flat major, Largo con gran espressione in C major, Allegro in E-flat major and in E-flat minor, and Rondo: Poco allegretto e grazioso in E flat major. The first pice, Allegro molto e con brio, starts with anticipation, but quickly changes to a bright, confident melody. The Largo con gran espressione is an early example of the slow tune that would later get brought to extraordinary heights. The Allegro it is very harmonic although, not without tempo spins. The Rondo brings light mood , that was common to the previous parts, making it a great ending.
The next on was J. S. Bach (1685-1750) In Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in c minor, WTC 1, the changes in tempo and texture are impressive in this one. In its attitude and expressive aims, the prelude in C minor is very similar to the previous one. The main body of the C minor prelude represents the category of pieces determined primarily by harmonic processes.
Johannes Brahms piece Fantasies, Op. 116 was the third piece, it sounded so complicated and interesting, like going to a wine tasting. All you try there is a wine, but each one of them is different, the same is with this piece. And later I have come to read that the structure of the work is the most complicated. Brahms used a special trick for his piece: the changes of texture always follow the change of sections within the structure. . By the Latin name of movement Capriccio Brahms showed some influence of renaissance, which was more symbolic than essential for the development of music. The Fantasies, Op. 116 has two main peculiarities: the dense texture and the complicated rhythm.
The fourth piece is modern one. Yi tried to associate with previous one the piece was played with an impressive fluidity, despite changeable character of the Henri Dutilleux work. Dutilleux wrote Prelude No. 3 Le jeu des contraires under the influence of the approaching changes. Thus, the music is more ruminative, slow moving and full of mysteries and tenderness.
The last peace performed was just like a cherry on top of this musical majesty. Kwan Yi showed gave the proper introduction which that implied a majestic aura. The piece overall sound very powerful and intricate, greatly influent by the impression Paris made on the composer. Frederic Chopin composed Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, in 1835—36 and dedicated it to Monsieur le Baron de Stockhausen, the Hanoverian ambassador to France.
This concert left me with unforgettable music memories, as going in there I didn’t even know what it really was. Kwan Yi’s performance enriched my musical vocabulary greatly and opened my ears to completely new music sensations.