Tanski, brilliance and disappointments<\/p>\n
By Gus Kairupan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Prize winner, teacher at one of Austria's
\nforemost music academies, one-time student of Alfred Brendel...
\nClaudius Tanski certainly has all the assets to be placed in the
\nfront ranks of young pianists today. And judging from his
\nperformance last Monday at Erasmus Huis one can only say that
\nTanski is indeed a master colorist and lyricist.<\/p>\n
Claudius Tanski's is the third in a series of four monthly
\npiano recitals by young German pianists whose appearance here and
\nin Bandung is sponsored by the Goethe Institut. The two that
\nperformed before him were equally well-armed with credentials of
\nthe highest order.<\/p>\n
A pity then, that Tanski's recital was marked by so many
\nmemory lapses on his part, especially in the Bach and Beethoven
\npieces. Such lapses do occur at recitals; indeed, the musical
\nevent that is totally free from such incidents still has to take
\nplace. I remember the performance of a French duo, one of whom
\nsuffered just such a lapse, whereupon they both stopped and
\nstarted again from the beginning.<\/p>\n
In Tanski's case, though, the frequency of memory lapses makes
\none wonder about the preparation he has undertaken to play Bach's
\nD-Minor Toccata & Fugue (arranged by Busoni) and Beethoven's
\nAppasionata. What was also discernible was the time he took when
\nentering a particularly complex section, as if he were preparing
\nhimself for the difficulties ahead. True, the time taken could be
\nmeasured in nanoseconds, but it was perceptible all the same.
\nOne instance in particular was in the fugue -- to be exact, in
\nthe section where all voices speak out at once while,
\nsimultaneously, a trill runs through the entire part. Perhaps it
\nis easier to do on the organ (for which the piece was originally
\ncomposed) if only because the performer also uses his feet. On
\nthe piano, however, the work is fraught with horribly difficult
\npassages, more so with Busoni's transcription than the one
\narranged by Liszt.<\/p>\n
These slips also occurred in the Beethoven sonata (Appasio-
\nnata), especially in the final movement. Incidentally, according
\nto the program, Tanski was to play the Waldstein sonata. It is
\ncommon usage to inform the audience of alterations in the program
\nand an announcement to the effect should have been made. This
\napplies to changes of numbers as well as omissions, because
\nTanski also did not play Schumann's Widmung (arranged by Liszt).
\nBoth the sonata and Widmung are well-known compositions -- at
\nleast among classical music aficionados.<\/p>\n
Brilliant pianist<\/p>\n
The slips notwithstanding, Claudius Tanski is a brilliant
\npianist, a virtuoso even. That was clear from the very beginning
\nwhen he played Busoni's transcription of a Bach choral prelude
\n(Awaken, the voice calls to us), a work which juxtaposes a melody
\n(the original version would be a choir) against a tapestry of
\ninstrumental obbligato melodies. The way Tanski picked up the
\nvarious strands and wove them together without once getting lost
\nin the rich variety of melodic lines was nothing less than
\nmagnificent and marks him as a superb artist indeed. His second
\nrendition (he played it again as an encore) was even better.<\/p>\n
Just as impressive was the concert paraphrase put together by
\nLiszt from Verdi's opera, Rigoletto. This was the piece that
\nrevealed Tanski as a virtuoso pianist, but it wasn't just the
\ntypical Lisztian fiorituri that brought this out. Tanski also
\npointed to the coherence between Liszt's embellishments and the
\nentirety of the composition. Many are the pianists who add that
\nbit of extra emphasis to musical decorative devices merely to
\nshow off their technical prowess. Even maestro Liszt himself (if
\nwhat I've read about him is true) can be accused of having
\nindulged in it.<\/p>\n
The Reubke sonata (B-Flat Minor) was probably a debut in
\nJakarta. This composer died at a very young age (24), and, as far
\nas I know none of his works have ever had a hearing in Jakarta.
\nThe one-movement work covers quite a wide range of key shifts
\nwhich at times makes it a bit difficult to follow or figure out
\nits direction. He was a pupil of Liszt and, besides piano music,
\nhas also composed songs and an organ sonata which is said to have
\nbeen influential in organ composition in following periods. I
\nwould say that in order to get to know Reubke better, listening
\nto his other compositions would be required provided recordings
\nof his works are available.<\/p>\n
In all, Claudius Tanski's recital was something of a mixture
\nof brilliance and disappointments, the latter pertaining to the
\nToccata & Fugue by Bach and Beethoven's sonata, both of which he
\nseemed not to have prepared properly. However, renditions of the
\nother compositions were truly masterful, so, in a way, he did
\ndeserve the ovation.<\/p>\n
The series of piano recitals is to be completed next month by
\nRolf Plagge. Hopefully, no changes will occur in the program.<\/p>",
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