PianoArts 2014, Finals - Huan Li

I'll be honest...I want to just so here and listen. But I shall listen and type for you. :) Li is performing Beetoven's third concerto this evening. This piece is always a joy to listen to. Beethoven, along with Mozart, solidified the standard form for concerti in general: an fast first movement, slow second movement, and then a closing fast movement. In the first movement, the orchestra opens, introducing all the main themes of that movement and then bringing the soloist in. The soloist then restates those themes, in dialogue with the orchestra, and develops them. A cadenza (an extended solo passage for the soloist in which one or both main themes of the concerto are developed further allowing the pianist or instrumentalist to show their skills in technique and improvisation) comes next followed by a brief closing orchestral section. In some concerti, the soloist will finish the movement with the orchestra. Li is doing a lovely job and I know will continue to do. The finalists' rehearsal time with the orchestra is limited (true to professional musical life) so you have to be a quick study on order to stay with the orchestra and conductor.

On to the Largo. Finally, we get to hear the incredible key shift from C minor to E major. This is the sort of unexpected change so characteristic of Beethoven, but also a testament to his genius. He could have put this movement on E-flat major, a closely related key of C minor, but he bumped it up a half-step. Pure magic. Notice too, the movement to the raised third of the C minor scale, as opposed to going to the V or the IV of that key on which to build the second movement. Li brought is gently and sensitively into this second movement and has maintained this character beautifully. Well-done.

And Li is off and running in the third movement. The ensemble with the orchestra is terrific. Her finger work and voicing is great too. A rondo opens with a theme, moves to a new theme, comes back to the original theme, introduces another new theme, etc for a form that come out A-B-A-C-A. Composers do not have to stick to this exact form. It could also be A-B-C-A-D-B-A, for example. Rondos are always fun pieces to listen to. This rondo follows an A-B-A-C-A-B-A-Coda form (if my ears kept track of ot correctly...haven't formally studied this piece.). Brava to Li!