Carmen Knoll opened her solo recital with the sweet and melancholy F# minor prelude and fugue from the second book of J S Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, which came across beautifully with her full and open musical voice. After the lyrical prelude, the fugue danced nicely under Knoll's able fingers.
The musical tour continued with the grave first movement of Chopin's second piano sonata (the "Funeral March" sonata, after the well-known slow movement) -- one of the more large-scale works heard in today's solo recitals. And the work came across large as well; Knoll's commanding sound and breadth of ideas served the drama well. A beautiful and moving performance.
Elliott Carter's "Caténaires" illustrates the meaning of the French word, which means "electric cables." And indeed the music snapped, crackled, and popped just like as many electrons in an electric wire going from point A to point B.... The blistering virtuosity in this performance was all the more impressive knowing how un-idiomatic and unusual the jumps and figures are, which she demonstrates before the performance. Very impressive...!
Knoll brings us back to the expressive world of Chopin with the elegiac and poignant Nocturne in C minor, Op 48 No 1. Again, Knoll captures a spacious expressivity in the music. Her passion for the music inspires a similar reaction in the audience... (Or at least in this audience member!)
For the grand finale, Carmen Knoll brings us the Volodos version of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No 13. According to Knoll, Volodos adds more notes and flourishes to the original in order to make the performer evening crazier and wilder...! Indeed, the gestures in this folk-music-flavored work were quite extravagant. An expressive opening gives way to a fantastical and whizz-bang romp of a finish. A great recital from Carmen Knoll!
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