Lisiecki recital

Together with attendees composing virtually a full house at Benaroya Hall's 2,500-seat auditorium, I was dazzled last night by the piano virtuosity and sensitivity of Jan Lisiecki,

It wasn't my first acquaintance with Mr. Lisiecki.  About a decade ago, I attended a recital by the pianist, then 16 years old, in Meany Hall on the UW campus (as had, I learned last night, the couple sitting next to me).  The Meany Hall recital was a more informal appearance, in which he had introduced each piece with a little discussion of what he was about to play, and of his approach to the music.  I remember little of what he told us, but I remember vividly how impressed I was that a boy in his mid-teens could speak to a large audience with such relaxed confidence, humor, and erudition.

Lisiecki last night was more formal -- in both dress and bearing -- and less boyishly enthusiastic.  More mature now, his playing of an all-Chopin program was magnificent.

For his program, he had selected eleven of Chopin's 21 nocturnes, and alternated them with twelve of Chopin's 27 études.  The nocturnes were, of course, quite familiar -- slow, quiet, dreamlike, but in Lisiecki's interpretation surprisingly dramatic at times in their dynamics.  On the other hand, I was unfamiliar with any of the ètudes, a form of music that has been traditionally written as a means for the musician to practice his technique, short pieces replete with technically difficult tempos and fingering.  I understand, however, that Chopin's ètudes are frequently considered concert material.  They are extremely fast and extremely loud.  For me, it was difficult to see how Lisiecki's fingers could move as fast as they did up and down the keyboard -- and then, with hardly a break, slide into the next tenderly played nocturne.

Lisiecki received standing ovations at both the intermission and the end of the recital.  He played as an encore a short piece by the Polish composer, patriot, and former prime minister Jan Paderewski.  It was an appropriate selection after a Chopin recital by a pianist himself of Polish ancestry.

I was impressed by the size of the Benaroya Hall audience -- all of whom were required to show proof of Covid vaccination and to be wearing masks.  Unlike the Symphony's regular season performances, a surprising number of the audience members were young, under the age of 30.

Like the rest of the audience, I was deeply moved by Chopin's music, and Lisiecki's playing.  I also found it encouraging to spend a couple of hours surrounded by a couple thousand deeply attentive and enthusiastic fellow audience members.