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This team is different
Richard Goode/Jonathan Biss piano recital (2nd review)
Playing music for piano four hands is one of the more treacherous tightrope walking acts in the concert world. There's simply no shadow to hide under; every little flaw is going to be exposed. Consequently, precise coordination on the part of the two musicians is paramount.
No wonder so many famous duo pianists have also been life partners in some way— husband and wife (Misha and Sipa Dichter, Silvio and Isabel Scionti, Pierre Luboshutz and Genia Nemenoff), father and daughter (Emil and Elena Gilels), father and son (Vladimir and Vovka Ashkenazy) or, in case of the currently highly touted pairing of Güher and Süher Pekinel, twin sisters.
The team of Richard Goode and Jonathan Biss is, in some ways, an unlikely piano duo. Both pursue busy solo careers. As Dan Rottenberg observed earlier in BSR, they are a generation removed in age from one another and seem, at least physically, to work in contrasting styles. But while the requisite precision was easily conveyed by the pair, it was, indeed, the differences between them as artists that raised their February 4 recital at the Perelman to a higher level.
Madness to envy
This was especially the case in two pieces originally written for instrumental ensembles: Beethoven's bizarre and fascinating Grosse Fuge (side note; when I said to a composer acquaintance during intermission that I always found this Beethoven piece a bit crazy, he said, "What I wouldn't give to be that crazy for just a couple of weeks"), and Stravinsky's ballet Agon.
In both cases, Goode and Biss brought out a textural variety and dramatic tension that wouldn't have been possible if they were trying to sound like one pianist. Even in Schubert's sublime Fantasy in f, the pair's subtle differences in shading and phrasing gave the music unusual depth and richness.
It may be an unfair generalization, but most dedicated duo piano teams consist of musicians who aren't necessarily distinguished as soloists. The Pekinel twins, for example, are probably best known for their scintillating playing of showpieces like the Milhaud Scaramouche and Lutoslawski's brilliant set of variations on the well worn Paganini 24th Caprice. But in the more refined music of Mozart, the glossy veneer is not enough.
On video, you can see that the sisters have almost identical hand position, posture and even the same facial mannerisms. The result is dull Mozart. The composer didn't write for multiple soloists as a parlor trick. He sought the expressive effect that imaginative soloists can find in the dense tangle of notes.
Where was Mozart?
In the case of Goode and Biss, we have pianists in the cream of the crop at their respective career milestones. Not incidentally, both studied at Curtis: Goode with Rudolf Serkin and Mieczysław Horszowski, and Biss with Leon Fleisher. Pianists with that kind of pedigree are taught that precision is the level starting point for their art; even as soloists they find differences of attack from the left hand to the right.
For their four-hand recital, the music was thus enlivened by four potential instrumental contrasts. At least. That would certainly make for beautiful Mozart— a composer they didn't play. Maybe next time. These guys should get together more often.♦
To read another review by Dan Rottenberg, click here.
No wonder so many famous duo pianists have also been life partners in some way— husband and wife (Misha and Sipa Dichter, Silvio and Isabel Scionti, Pierre Luboshutz and Genia Nemenoff), father and daughter (Emil and Elena Gilels), father and son (Vladimir and Vovka Ashkenazy) or, in case of the currently highly touted pairing of Güher and Süher Pekinel, twin sisters.
The team of Richard Goode and Jonathan Biss is, in some ways, an unlikely piano duo. Both pursue busy solo careers. As Dan Rottenberg observed earlier in BSR, they are a generation removed in age from one another and seem, at least physically, to work in contrasting styles. But while the requisite precision was easily conveyed by the pair, it was, indeed, the differences between them as artists that raised their February 4 recital at the Perelman to a higher level.
Madness to envy
This was especially the case in two pieces originally written for instrumental ensembles: Beethoven's bizarre and fascinating Grosse Fuge (side note; when I said to a composer acquaintance during intermission that I always found this Beethoven piece a bit crazy, he said, "What I wouldn't give to be that crazy for just a couple of weeks"), and Stravinsky's ballet Agon.
In both cases, Goode and Biss brought out a textural variety and dramatic tension that wouldn't have been possible if they were trying to sound like one pianist. Even in Schubert's sublime Fantasy in f, the pair's subtle differences in shading and phrasing gave the music unusual depth and richness.
It may be an unfair generalization, but most dedicated duo piano teams consist of musicians who aren't necessarily distinguished as soloists. The Pekinel twins, for example, are probably best known for their scintillating playing of showpieces like the Milhaud Scaramouche and Lutoslawski's brilliant set of variations on the well worn Paganini 24th Caprice. But in the more refined music of Mozart, the glossy veneer is not enough.
On video, you can see that the sisters have almost identical hand position, posture and even the same facial mannerisms. The result is dull Mozart. The composer didn't write for multiple soloists as a parlor trick. He sought the expressive effect that imaginative soloists can find in the dense tangle of notes.
Where was Mozart?
In the case of Goode and Biss, we have pianists in the cream of the crop at their respective career milestones. Not incidentally, both studied at Curtis: Goode with Rudolf Serkin and Mieczysław Horszowski, and Biss with Leon Fleisher. Pianists with that kind of pedigree are taught that precision is the level starting point for their art; even as soloists they find differences of attack from the left hand to the right.
For their four-hand recital, the music was thus enlivened by four potential instrumental contrasts. At least. That would certainly make for beautiful Mozart— a composer they didn't play. Maybe next time. These guys should get together more often.♦
To read another review by Dan Rottenberg, click here.
What, When, Where
Richard Goode and Jonathan Biss: Piano recital. Works by Debussy, Schumann, Beethoven, Stravinsky and Schubert. Presented by Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, February 4, 2010 at Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce St. (215) 569-8080 or pcmsconcerts.org.
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