A surprising role reversal in Cleveland

By Frank Kuznik, 13 March 2016

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Reviewed at Reinberger Chamber Hall, Cleveland on 10 March 2016

Debussy, Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune

Ravel, Sonatine in F sharp major

Beethoven, Piano Sonata no. 31 in A flat major, Op.110

Ravel, Miroirs

Beethoven, Piano Sonata no. 32 in C minor, Op.111

Maria João Pires, Piano

Julien Brocal, Piano

Festival Strings Lucerne bring sleek clarity and ambient stasis

Simon Cummings, 31st May

Maria João Pires gives a soporific, lacklustre performance of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, while the Festival Strings Lucerne transform Honegger’s Pastorale d'été into a riveting ambient moodscape and bring pristine clarity to the Pastoral Symphony.

***11

Maria João Pires exudes elegance and grace in Cleveland recital

Cameron Kelsall, 3rd May

The semi-retired pianist offered a generous program of Schubert and Debussy that showcased her technical prowess and interpretive gifts.

*****

Bruckner with a light touch from Blomstedt and the Philharmonia

Dominic Lowe, 26th May

Sensitive, nuanced Bruckner from Blomstedt and a Mozartian treat from Maria João Pires.

****1

Maria João Pires takes the spotlight at the Argerich Festival

Cameron Kelsall, 1st July

A collaborative performance of Mozart's Sonata for two pianos was not broadcast, but Pires stanched any disappoint by offering refined interpretations of Schubert.

****1

Maria João Pires reveals her poetic pianism in rare Aix appearance

Edward Sava-Segal, 7th April

A lovely recital of Schubert, Debussy and Beethoven by the Portuguese pianist in Aix’s Théâtre du Jeu de Paume.

****1

A sliver of musical reflection

James Imam, 3rd September

To celebrate a popular thinker's influence across the breadth of the arts in a single concert is clearly no small ambition. This programme sagged under the weight of its disparate components, but the individual works shone brilliantly.

***11

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Frank Kuznik

Frank Kuznik is the former Editor-in-Chief and Culture Editor of The Prague Post, Central Europe’s premier English-language weekly newspaper. He currently divides his time between Prague and his hometown in the US, Cleveland, where he covers northeast Ohio's dynamic classical music scene. In Prague he is an habitué of the Rudolfinum, National Theater, State Opera and other storied classical music venues, and an unabashed fan of Czech music.