Dreamy undertones without whirlwinds of passion: Lise de la Salle

Lise de la Salle

By Zoltán Szabó, 09 April 2025

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“her touch being feathery if not always velvety”

Reviewed at City Recital Hall, Sydney on 7 April 2025

Chopin, Ballade no. 1 in G minor, Op.23

Chopin, Ballade no. 4 in F minor, Op.52

Liszt, Cantique d'amour

Liszt, Réminiscences de Don Juan

Liszt, Piano Sonata in B minor, S 178

Bach, Flute Sonata in E flat major, BWV1031: Siciliano in G minor (trans. Kempff)

Lise de la Salle, Piano

Rachmaninov’s Romanticism meets Shostakovich’s fury in Dublin

Andrew Larkin, 17th January

In a thrilling concert oscillating between lush sentiment and explosive tension, pianist Lise de la Salle and conductor Diego Matheuz lead the NSO through Rachmaninov’s emotional grandeur and Shostakovich’s wartime defiance.

****1

Unusual Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky from Rakitina and de la Salle

Alexander Hall, 17th May

Russian-Ukrainian conductor Anna Rakitina doesn't quite land on her debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, while Lise de la Salle uncovers the lighter side of Rachmaninov.

***11

Korngold’s gem of a symphony receives rapturous Singapore premiere

Chang Tou Liang, 11th February

An unusual but inspired programme of Riisager, Gershwin and Korngold finds a very receptive audience in Singapore.

****1

A match made in Mendelssohn

Cameron Kelsall, 21st February

Herbert Blomstedt and Lise de la Salle proved an ideal pair in the rarely heard Piano Concerto no. 2 in D minor with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

*****

Lise de la Salle's superb Bach the highlight of a varied recital

David Karlin, 11th December

The French pianist's approach may be uncomplicated, but crisp articulation, interesting dynamics and a fine sense of shifting moods enliven a recital full of variety.

****1

Urbański proves his mettle with Tchaikovsky and Chopin in Washington

David Rohde, 31st October

Krzysztof Urbański elects an ideal pace and shape for Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony in a guest conducting appearance with the National Symphony Orchestra, on an evening also featuring Lise de la Salle playing Chopin.

****1

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Zoltán Szabó

Zoltán Szabó is a cellist and musicologist. Having migrated from his native Hungary to Australia in 1985, he worked with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney until 1991, when he became Principal Cello with Opera Australia. In 2017, he was awarded with a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD). Currently, he is teaching music history and musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Dreamy undertones without whirlwinds of passion: Lise de la Salle in Sydney