Evgeny Kissin displays a glowing touch at the Santa Cecilia, Rome

For his last time in Rome, in 2019, Evgeny Kissin joined maestro Antonio Pappano in Liszt's Piano Concerto no. 2, proving his unique talent and maturity. Last Wednesday, the Russian pianist made his return to the same Santa Cecilia stage as a soloist. From Bach to Rachmaninov, passing through Mozart and Chopin, his a programme featured well-known and significant works, but always with the taste – as is Kissin's custom – of going against the conventional concert hall repertoire. 

In fact, his chronological programme opened with Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, BWM 903, one of the composer’s most enigmatic and mysterious works, mainly because of the liberty of form and chromatic modulations that distinguish the first half. For the Fantasy, Kissin opted for an Andante tempo, indulging in every tempo change and modulation, and adopting a distinctive, harpsichord-style touch. All this culminated in the tension of the Picardy-third cadence that left the way open to the following Fugue, fast and brilliant, in which the pianist demonstrated all his skill by unravelling the interplay of the three voices.  

Next came Mozart's Piano Sonata no. 9 in D major K 311, the second of three that the composer wrote during his stay in Augsburg and Mannheim in 1777. In the Allegro con spirito, Kissin relied on a touchable sound that, in the Andante con espressione, turned – especially in some repeated notes – into lyricism. Smoothness, colour and sensitivity meshed in the final Rondo. Kissin's touch, already brilliant in the Mozart, became ever brighter in Chopin's Scherzo in B flat minor, Op.31, which ended the first half of the recital; it was here that Kissin displayed his pianism’s expressiveness and boldness, which was certainly necessary to approach the spirit of this composition.    

In the second half, it was Rachmaninov's turn. From the Op.12 Romances, Kissin selected the transcription of Lilacs, an evocative and transcendental piece permeated with shades of colour, drawing out its hypnotic symbolism. This was followed by preludes from Op.32 (no. 8 in A minor) and Op.23 (no. 10 in G flat major) and then five of the Op.39 Études-tableaux, where the sophisticated harmonic links that characterise Rachmaninov unfolded superbly, without ever a smear or smudge in expressive intention. In particular, it was impossible not to be mesmerised by the E flat minor Appassionato, where power and virtuosity merged with a lyricism that was firm but never excessive.  

The atmosphere in the hall was charged with high expectations, and Kissin met them with unmatched naturalness and bravura. After minutes of applause, the pianist returned to the stage and gave the Roman audience three encores, all from Rachmaninov's Morceaux de fantaisie: the Mélodie, Serenade and the famous Prelude in C sharp minor. Literally surrounded by the warmth of the audience's response, the pianist finally left the hall, thanking everyone with a smile.