The Asian Pianist: Mary Wu Piano Recital

MARY WU PIANO RECITAL

THE ASIAN PIANIST: RESPLENDENT HARMONIES

SINGAPORE CONFERENCE HALL

25 AUGUST 2013

This review was published in The Straits Times on 27 August 2013 under the title "Feast of unfamiliar for the few"

Despite the best efforts of local ensembles and composers to introduce new music to local audiences, it seems that programmes featuring unfamiliar works still turn away the crowds.

What other reason could one think of for the pitiful numbers who attended the recital by Hong Kong pianist Mary Wu?

Those who were present were treated to a feast of compositions by living Chinese composers. The generous sonority and impeccable voicing and pedalling in Busoni's transcription of Bach's chorale prelude Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, was just a prelude of things to come.

Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit has proven to be the downfall of many pianists. This triptych fairy tale was, however, no match for the technical fluidity of Wu. The aqueous flourishes of the volatile Ondine the water nymph, the tolling of the static and evocative Le Gibet and nightmarish diablerie of Scarbo were always clearly projected.

Her grasp of the musical idiom of Chinese composers was most convincing. Bright Sheng's My song shimmered like a kaleidoscope of musical ideas, especially in the delectable heterophony of the prelude-like first movement.

Victor Chan's Passion Within was written during the height of the 2003 Sars crisis. Inspired by a poem by William Blake, the fantasy-like work interspersed with salon-like improvisations came across as a cross between Alban Berg and Gershwin.

Zhou Long's treatment of the piano as a percussive instrument in Wu Kui brought about some Bartok-like incessant dance rhythms, while Joyce Tang's Images, Colours (2010-2013) was perhaps the most influenced by Western culture, with the impressionistic work incorporating Spanish rhythms and improvisations in three distinc movements.

The solo piano version of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is rarely heard in recitals and for good reason. Much as the pianist tries, he cannot effectively replicate the iconic clarinet solo that opens the work or the big band slides of the brass instruments, and thus loses much of the jazz nuances. Although the tricky arpeggios and fiendish repeated notes were stunningly executed, Wu's account of the jazz fantasy sounded more calculated than spontaneous.

Her reading of Chopin's masterpiece, the Piano Sonata No. 3 Op. 58, traded barnstorming virtuosity for a more quaint and docile approach which brought out the inner poetic beauty and innocence of the work.

More emphasis was placed on the lyrical and brooding moments of the work, especially in the Largo third movement, although she did eventually take off with aplomb in the avalanche of running notes and chromatic filigree in the Finale.

Rewarded with a hearty ovation, she responded with two encores, Albeniz's Evocation from Iberia and a free-wheeling account of Gershwin's I got rhythm.

#marywu