Simple, Pure & Refreshing

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The New York Sun

Ivan Moravec is what you call a pianist’s pianist – a nice, familiar phrase, but what does it mean? We’re talking about a pianist whom others want to hear, and emulate; a pianist who is devoted to music and craft, not to ego or flash; a pianist of taste and cultivation. An all-around model, in other words. On Monday night, Mr. Moravec – a Czech born in 1930 – gave a recital in Carnegie Hall, and it was indeed that of a pianist’s pianist.


He started with a composer from his homeland, Janácek .The creator of “The Cunning Little Vixen” and other operas didn’t write much piano music, but what he wrote is good. Mr. Moravec played “In the Mists,” a four-movement work that reminds us that you didn’t have to be French to be an Impressionist.


Mr. Moravec sits erect at the keyboard, ready to play, all business. And in the Janácek, he was the complete master, as usual. Mr. Moravec retains plenty of technique, but he wears that technique lightly: It serves the music, and nothing else. Mr. Moravec lent “In the Mists” an exotic flavor, and he had command of every voice.You could tell that he has lived with this music a long time – he understands it, and allows you to do so, too.


Interesting about his technique is his forte: It is an authoritative forte, making you sit up in your chair. But there’s no pounding in it, no excess. That’s what makes it so authoritative, and arresting.


After the Janácek, Mr. Moravec turned to Debussy, to the three-movement suite called “Pour le piano.” Here, Mr. Moravec produced just the right amount of blur – that happy, Debussyan blur. The notes were clear enough, but ambiguous enough as well. In the outer movements, Mr. Moravec could have been a little faster and a little grander – but that would have been another pianist. And in the second movement, he was more straightforward than some would like. For me, however, he was refreshing in his simplicity and purity. This movement is marked “With an elegance grave and slow” – and that is how Mr. Moravec played it.


He closed the first half of the program with a big Chopin piece, the Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49. In this he was somewhat surprising. He was loose with rhythm – very free, if you prefer – instead of keeping a steady pulse. And he did not exhibit the same control he had earlier in the recital. Also, this account was rather overpedaled – overpedaled even in wonderful E-flatmajor march that Chopin includes in the Fantasy. But at the same time, this account was admirably individualistic. Mr. Moravec always has something to say, and his renditions of classic repertoire don’t come out of a cookie cutter.


After intermission, the program was all Chopin: four nocturnes and the Gminor ballade. The first of those nocturnes was that in C-sharp minor, and talk about pedaling: This piece requires the most expert pedaler. Mr. Moravec was equal to the task – although he might have added more mystery to this nocturne. Also, the thirds at the end could have been more smiling, but they were enjoyable nonetheless.


The next nocturne was that in D-flat major, and here you can tell that Chopin revered the Italian bel canto master, Bellini: Chopin’s melody could be a Bellini aria, perhaps from “I Puritani.” Mr. Moravec handled it nicely, although he was at times a little blunt in it – almost aggressive, which was strange. And the piece’s beautiful ending might have been warmer.


Then we had the F-sharp-major nocturne, just a little heavy, followed by the C minor: a piece with many sections that requires wise shaping. Mr. Moravec largely provided this. Particularly effective in this piece was the transition to C major, which had a sneaking, startling quality.


The Ballade in G minor, Op. 23, is another big piece. It calls for ample virtuosity and energy, and Mr. Moravec had reserves of each. But he may have been a bit tired at this point, and he did not play the ballade as cleanly or compellingly as he would have liked. Still, it was – again – individualistic, and his pianist’s taste came through.


The Carnegie Hall audience was rightly enthusiastic, and Mr. Moravec gave them three encores. The first was Chopin’s Prelude in A major – and you have never heard such unpretentious grace.Astonishing. It should have been recorded.Then came more music from the homeland, a Smetana polka, played with affection, knowledge, and pleasure. Finally, more Impressionism, more Debussy – the “Serenade of the Doll” from “The Children’s Corner.” That was a favorite encore of Horowitz’s, too. Mr. Moravec was positively exquisite in it. Again, a model.


If I could end on a personal note: When I was a boy, I had Moravec LPs from Supraphon, the Czech company – of Chopin, as a matter of fact. They delighted, amazed, and instructed me. And Mr. Moravec is still doing this, years later, in the flesh. He is a man who, in his playing, exudes a sense of civilization. That is a rare musician indeed.


The New York Sun

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