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| Music Preview |
| Coming up at Tannery Pond, Saturday, July 12, 8 pm: Soojin Anjou, Piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata In E-Major, K.332
Maurice Ravel, Sonatine
Johann Strauss Jr. / Leopold Godowsky, Concert Paraphrase "Die Fledermaus"
Olivier Messiaen, La Colombe
Isaac Albéniz, Triana
Maurice Ravel, Le Tombeau De Couperin
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| Michael Miller |
July 11, 2008 |
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I don't intend to offer a review of a private concert preview, but I would like to express my most enthusiastic recommmendation of the upcoming Tannery Pond recital by the young pianist Soojin Anjou, a native Korean who now resides in Berlin. This afternoon I had the great pleasure of hearing her play in a home setting. Her program shows extraordinary sensitivity to subtle relationships among the works, which emerge only cumulatively as the listener absorbs them in succession—beginning with one of Mozart's most popular sonatas, which laid the groundwork for Ravel's Sonatine. There followed a striking contrast in Godowsky's moody and whimsical paraphrase of tunes from Die Fledermaus. Messaien's otherwordly short piece, La Colombe, Albéniz exotic Triana, and finally one of Ravel's finest works, Le Tombeau de Couperin—all played with impressive technique, insight and nuance by this extraordinary young woman at the beginning of her career. Her performance of Le Tombeau de Couperin showed the highest mastery, revealing aspects of the work I never knew existed. With Soojin Anjou's sharply etched technique the more delicate passages never lost their strength and rigor, and she did full justice to the grander passages, never compromising the basic lucidity of her playing. This is an event not to be missed.
I should add that this private preview was presented in connection with The Tannery Pond Concerts. Its organizer, Christian Steiner, was present, but he ceded his usual role of host to his Sealyham Terrier, Nikolai, who fulfilled this duty with a graciousness worthy of his master, scuffling enthusiastically around the piano before each piece, and barking once discreetly to support the applause. Nikolai is obviously a seasoned concert-goer, and many Tanglewood visitors would do well to take a page from his etiquette book.
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| Pianist Soojin Anjou, photo Uwe Neumann |
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