| ||||
| 2012/04/23/di-wu-at-steinway-society-the-bay-area/ Di Wu at Steinway Society the Bay Area by David Beech April 23, 2012 On a very warm Sunday afternoon, April 22, 2012, at Le Petit Trianon, San Jose, pianist Di Wu raised the temperature still further with playing that was often dazzling but also deafening. Displaying phenomenal technical ability with rapid and perfectly controlled fingerwork and shimmering octaves, she also relaxed at times and showed a delicacy and elegance of legato line and a musicianship that could have been more generously used. Brahms¡¯ 3rd Piano Sonata Op.5 is a great work, a precursor of his mighty piano concertos, and yet the last piano sonata he wrote. A recent and welcome addition to Di Wu¡¯s repertoire, it was played with the excitement of discovery and romantic flair, while coming up a little short on classical structure and proportion. Right from the start, the thirty-second notes could have been more distinct, and the pp triplets in the bass were almost inaudible ¨C yet they have to be heard in the exposition to make sense of their role in the development. Repeating the exposition might have helped establish the maestoso character of the movement, but the dashing sixteenths into the development were certainly well executed, as were the quieter reflective passages. The slow movement had a beautifully lyrical opening, leading to the delicious una corda section of answering pairs of sixteenth notes, and eventually to ppp markings. But the huge late climax to the movement was overplayed ¨C in writing fff and molto pesante, Brahms surely did not intend the harsh sounds we heard. The Scherzo began with a divine pick-up arpeggio, but thereafter tended to be a shade splashy, until the delightful descending arpeggio decorations, and the bold ending. The Trio was a little angular ¨C a smoother legato would have made more of the contrast. In the short Intermezzo, the fifths in contrary motion created a magical effect. The rollicking Finale went well, although with the dotted rhythms sounding disturbingly almost double-dotted at times. Ms. Wu¡¯s nimble fingers reveled in the final presto that led to an impressive conclusion. The five pieces in Ravel¡¯s Miroirs were well suited to Wu¡¯s fluent style. She captured the capricious nature of Noctuelles, although the effect could have been lighter. The sadness of Oiseaux tristes was well conveyed, but with a rather too violent central section. Probably the best playing in the set was in Di Wu¡¯s avowed favorite, Une barque sur l¡¯oc¨¦an, where the ostinato ripples sounded effortless, and there was fine bass sonority in the climax. The best known number, Alborada del gracioso, was vividly Spanish and noisy, leading to the stillness of La vall¨¦e des cloches, with the different kinds of bell sounds being beautifully spaced at different dynamic levels. Liszt¡¯s Paraphrase on a Waltz from Gounod¡¯s ¡°Faust¡± provided first some charming takes on the lilt of the waltz, followed by all manner of barnstorming virtuosity, at ever-increasing speeds and volume levels. Breathtaking as it was, it left one reflecting that if only Di Wu can decide when less Is more, she will take her playing to the next level and give undiluted pleasure. End David Beech, an amateur clarinetist, pianist and clavichordist, is a frequent contributor as a guest reviewer in this column. |
| ||
| 2012/04/22/pianist-di-wu-in-home-recital/ Pianist Di Wu in Home Recital by Lyn Bronson April 22, 2012 Steinway Society the Bay Area presented pianist Di Wu in a benefit recital last night for an intimate audience of approximately 40 people in a large gracious home in the Menlo Park area. The event was a fundraiser for the Steinway Society¡¯s weekend-long summer program for outstanding young performers. This program, the Midsummer Music Youth Camp, will be taking place this year at the Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View from August 10-12. It is open to string and piano students by audition and provides opportunities for participation in master classes, ensemble playing, and even a chance to play with a youth orchestra composed of the participating students. David Dumont, founder of the Steinway Society 18 years ago, played for us a video showing highlights of last year¡¯s Midsummer Youth Camp. It was heartening to see dedicated young students participating in something other than sports, doing it so very well and really enjoying it. Pianist Di Wu, who will be playing a full-length recital the following afternoon at Petit Trianon in San Jose, came forward and talked to the audience about the selections she was just about to play. She opened her brief program with four Debussy Preludes from Book 2 (General Lavine ¨C Eccentric, Ondine, Ti¨¨rces altern¨¦es and Feux d¡¯artifice), continued with two selections by Ravel (Une barque sur l¡¯ocean and Alborado del gracioso) and ended the program with the Liszt-Gounod ¡°Faust Waltz.¡± There is no question that Di Wu is the ¡°complete¡± pianist, equal to any challenge and able to create great beauty and charm, since there were many moments where she created lovely sounds and lovely musical shaping of phrases. Unfortunately, there were also many moments of ugly forced sound where the strings of the piano jangled in protest over the overplaying of fortissimos, and passages in the treble sounded overly loud, harsh and strident. The Philadelphia Inquirer mentioned in a review her ¡°steely¡± technique, of which we saw ample evidence last night. Di Wu has the potential to be one of the greatest pianists of her generation if only she can convince us in the first ten seconds that she really loves the works she plays and wants to share them with us, rather than trying to impress us with the all consuming power of her brilliant virtuosity. |