Rolf Plagge, an exceptionally brilliant pianist

By Gus Kairupan

JAKARTA (JP): Just as you begin to think you are very familiar with a certain composition, along comes someone to shake you out of that conviction by pointing to a host of other aspects which you had paid little attention to. Take Chopin's G-Minor Ballad (the first of four), that oft-performed (dare one say over- performed?) composition -- you'd never think that it had so many melodic lines, even in places where you least expect them. It takes the highest and finest in musicianship, it takes exceptional control, it takes a fine-tuned sense of coloring, it takes Rolf Plagge to perform them.

The fourth and last in a series of visiting German pianists, Rolf Plagge performed here last Tuesday under the sponsorship of the Goethe Institut and Erasmus Huis where the recital was held. Not only did he receive a standing ovation, so far one of only three for all of 1994, even after he emerged (about half an hour after the concert and in more comfortable clothes) soaking wet from the effort, the small crowd that had assembled in the room adjoining the auditorium burst into spontaneous applause. And rightly so, because it has been a very long time since a pianist of Rolf Plagge's caliber has performed in this city. Of course an indication of the degree of his quality could be read in his bio- data, which includes references to the prizes Plagge won in such top competitions as the Tchaikovsky (Russia) and Queen Elisabeth (Belgium), but when it comes to music it is the actual moment of the occurrence that counts rather than past ones.

The program covered compositions by Mozart, Chopin, Scriabin and Rachmaninov. You may find it odd, but it is possible to ascertain even from only faintly heard phrases whether an artist is good. Now, why would I say that? Because I was late, that's why, and when you're late at Erasmus Huis there's no way you'd be allowed in if the music (in this case Mozart's Rondo in A Minor K.511) is still in process. So I glued an ear to the door and after a while came to the conclusion that the audience was in for a good thing. The moment he finished and the applause had started, the door opened and the latecomers streamed in.

Next on the program was the series of Chopin compositions, i.e. two nocturnes and four etudes, followed by the G-Minor Ballad and the Andante Spianato et Grande Polonaise. These were the pieces that were the eye-openers (or ear-openers, rather) as to Plagge's incomparable musicianship. The way Rolf Plagge made all the melodic lines stand out with crystal clarity yet without one being intrusive on another, I dare say, has only very rarely been heard here. Even bottom notes were given a slight but noticeable legato in such a way that they, too, took on the shape of a melodic unit, and who would've thought that the simplest of figures, like the descending interval of a minor second (in the C-Sharp Minor Nocturne), could have such major musical implications?

Aspiring musicians aren't quite fond of the work of etude which means exercise, and generally refers to the stretches of uninspiring sessions of running up and down scales, arpeggios and what not to acquire digital dexterity. That's what Chopin's etudes are, but Rolf Plagge also served notice that they are also musical exercises, and as such, eminently suitable concert material. There are many other composers who have put together etudes, but those of Chopin's stand out head and shoulders above the rest. No wonder they are the most performed "exercises."

The second part included two sonatas by Russian composers Scriabin and Rachmaninov, the first being one I was not familiar with, hence the one I was looking forward to most of all. A good thing too, being introduced to a piece of someone of Rolf Plagge's standing. Had it been a lesser pianist it could well have turned off anyone hearing it for the first time.

But in a way, this applies to all the works Plagge played. As I said before, there were so many aspects in even the often played pieces which he brought out clearly and brilliantly, it was as if one heard something entirely new. The same goes for Rachmaninov's second sonata, a gigantic work with big matching sounds and tones which Plagge had no trouble producing. Now, I have often heard Rachmaninov's works played as if for the effect of their bigness, instead of showing how all the elements fit together in a design -- as Plagge did in his rendition. This goes as well for the Liszt-Paganini Campanella, a work Plagge gave as an encore and in the process displayed the effectiveness of all those ornamental devices but at the same time indicating that they are part of an entity.

Though I arrived late and missed the Mozart composition, I'm sure Rolf Plagge had the audience eating out of his hand from the very beginning. That is not surprising. He had a story to tell and he told it clearly and brilliantly.