Aptos Keyboard Series • By Richard Lynde
The restored classic 1904 Steinway B also sounded great in the near-perfect “live” resonance of the church under the very capable, mature hands of our pianist.
Anna began her studies in the Ukraine at age 5, moved with her family to Delaware in 2004, was admitted to the Prep Division of Juilliard and recently received her Bachelor of Piano from the Royal Academy in London. She currently studies at the University of the Arts in Berlin with Pascal Devoyon.
She began with the J.S. Bach Prelude and Fugue in C# Minor from Book 1 of the Well Tempered Klavier (1722). The sweet, resonant sounds shone forth in the Prelude; then the Fugue with a perfectly controlled intensity, building from “pp” to “ff”, amazingly profound.
Scriabin’s Fantasie in B minor, Op. 28 (1900) came next. It was Rachmaninoff, the romantic lushness with big sounds always under control, passionate and showy unlike Scriabin’s earlier Chopin-like compositions or his later mystic-psychedelic works. The audience appreciated this sonic workout that tested both piano and performer.
We were treated to a couple if Josef Sekon’s more very brief and interesting pieces, quite different from each other. The first was Clepsydra from 2008, and its name from Greek that means “water thief,” beginning with random notes, then a repeated series of notes, exquisite trilling, big chords then single water drops, all in very tricky timing, most tantalizing. More down to Earth was Sekon’s 2009 Grafite, the title was much more angular (think: meaning for graphite) and solid, Dmytrenko clearly understood these very demanding works.
The “Big” piece was tremendous, both in size and in performance! Brahm’s Sonata No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 5 (1853) was composed when Brahms was only 20 and was his last. The five-movement work demanding about 40 minutes was to these ears a tour de force of all the composer’s interests and skills, almost a “suite” instead of a sonata.
It began with a big ballad, typical of the young Brahms. The 2nd movement is sad, but leads right into a rousing waltz. In the fourth movement the glorious final section sparkled with elements of a march, fugue fragments and strong conclusion whose difficulties were handled with ease by the soloist.
The first encore was a mild “prelude” by Abam Chasins (1903-87), the 1940s Director of the NYC classical FM station WQXR. Our star Anna Dmytrenko has performed not only in Carnegie Hall and around the world, but now in Aptos.
What came last was tonally unexpected: the last movement of Rodion Shchedrin (1932-present) Piano Sonata (1962). It is a stunning, lighthearted spoof of piano schools and styles including Prokofiev, Liszt and lots of others, this super-virtuosic display was tossed off with an absolute ease of fury.
We can hardly wait for the next in the Aptos Keyboard Series. And to Josef Sekon: Keep your new works coming, we want to hear more of your evanescent and near-ineffable compositions.