Jenny Lin Piano Recital: A Keyboard Odyssey

JENNY LIN PIANO RECITAL

A KEYBOARD ODYSSEY WITH JENNY LIN

ESPLANADE RECITAL STUDIO

16 MAY 2014

An edited version of this review was published in The Straits Times on 18th May 2014 with the title "Less Glitz, More Poetry"

Conversations about Chinese pianists nowadays inevitably begin with Lang Lang and end with Yujia Wang, two of the latest products of classical music’s “glamour” department. But long before the world was wowed by the swashbuckling antics of these poster-childs, the likes of Fou Ts’ong and Yundi Li (before he succumbed to the celebrity frolics) captivated audiences with their capacity to communicate.

Taiwan-born American pianist Jenny Lin’s recital was a pleasant throwback to the “less glitzy” era of music-making, and it is to her credit that her carefully planned programme was a successful reflection of her acute imagination.

Although Dmitri Shostakovich's 24 Prelude and Fugues, dedicated to and championed by the late Russian pianist Tatyana Nikolayeva, were moulded after the more famous set by Johann Sebastian Bach, it was more emotionally inspired than the Baroque masterpiece.

Lin’s digital dexterity shone in all its glory, especially in the frenzied running notes of the A minor Prelude. She possessed the ability to thoughtfully voice out the different layers of the fugue without ever resorting to punching out the notes. The sonorities she contrived in the D minor Fugue was a delightful contrast to the chorale-like opening of the C major Prelude.

Less convincing were her execution of 3 Prelude and Fugues by Bach. Considering her mastery of the complex Shostakovich fugal writing, it was thus puzzling that the level of articulation she afforded was largely absent here, especially in the C major Fugue, resulting in some textural muddiness.

Lin returned after the intermission in a bright red gown, obviously drawing attention to the centerpiece of the evening, Guido Agosti’s transcendental transcription of Stravinsky’s orchestral suite, The Firebird. The music presented wove a story of mystique, fantasy, and love.

While her delivery of Debussy’s Clair de Lune could have been better effected with a mellower tone, her delivery of Chopin’s Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1, and Liszt’s Liebestraum No. 3 revealed her inner poet. The 2 latter pieces could not have been better contrasted, with Chopin’s futile patriotism firmly juxtaposed against Liszt’s flamboyant sentimentality.

Little-known Russian composer, Arthur Vincent Lourie’s A Phoenix Park Nocturne (1938) was a more contemplative work rather than evocative. The opening glissandi-like figures, which also appears at the end of the piece, were conveyed with sparkling clarity. Lin drew on every ounce of her artistry to bring to life a night-time journey through parts of Phoenix Park.

Agosti’s transcription of The Firebird suite was once described as unplayable. Lin, who studied with the composer-pianist in Italy, matched every angular nuance and though a more robust approach to the expansive chords would have given it a more heroic sense, the way she brought the work in its overstretched crescendo to its musical peak in the Finale was breath-taking.

She rewarded the appreciative full-house audience with 3 encores, including Albert Ketelbey’s immensely corny In a Chinese Temple Garden, which had all the stereo-typical oriental elements. Joining the pianist onstage was concert sponsor Stephen CuUnjieng who seemed to revel on being part of the performance. More surprising was her confident grasp of the jazz idiom in Earl Wild’s transcription of I Got Rhythm, and Blue Moon by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. Whoever said that classical musicians are too inflexible to play jazz?

#jennylin