Yukiko Shinohara piano recital at St George's in Bristol on 7 May 2015 - review
Posted on: 2015-05-09
Our rating:
Yukiko Shinohara's piano recital on Thursday 7 May 2015 edged me one step closer towards the inevitable brink of that musical abyss. Titled 'Jazz in the Classics', it was an eclectic, intriguing selection of piano pieces, for sure.
Having an addictive personality can be both a blessing and a curse. Once I get hooked on something, I absolutely get hooked. There is no salvation, no respite, no penance, no release. St George's Thursday lunchtime concerts in Bristol have become such an addiction.
With a consummate range of premiere musicians playing enthralling, dynamic works by famous (and not-so-famous) composers across the concert hall repertoire, they have become my musical methadone, my classical crack, my symphonic shot to the vein.
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Yukiko Shinohara's piano recital on Thursday 7 May 2015 edged me one step closer towards the inevitable brink of that musical abyss. Titled 'Jazz in the Classics', it was an eclectic, intriguing selection of piano pieces, for sure. Its main aim was to show that jazz and classical music are inherently intertwined and they have bounced back and forth over the years inspiring, informing and influencing each other in all manner of interesting and unexpected guises.
So we kicked off with Bach's Intro to Prelude No.1 in C, its repetitive, hypnotic, stripped-bare minimalistic patterns weaving an hypnotic spell. It was followed by Matt Herskowitz's Bach a la Jazz, a funky, spiky, speedy and, of course, jazzy take on a piece from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.
Gershwin followed - and how can you possibly go wrong with Gershwin? Answer is you can't, and his Three Preludes were played wit such precision and honesty and love of its lilting, dreamy nuances and hot-headed syncopations, it evoked memories of New York and the soundtrack of Woody Allen movies. A triptych of pianistic perfection.
The first five pieces from Ravel's Valse nobles et sentimales was by turns vibrant, punchy, mellifluous and warm. Hungarian composer Ligeti's Etude No.8 'Fem' was an indisputable masterclass, Shinohara taking on this ball-bustingly complex and difficult composition with total, assured aplomb. Hands frenetically flying across the keyboard at blisteringly blurry speed, its incredible, plucky, energetic soundscape was a study in superlative piano playing and was an edgy, uncompromising sonic revelation.
Shinohara pre-empted the next piece - the second movement from Gubaidulina's Piano Sonata - by saying that you might not discern any of its jazzy allusions. She was right, I didn't, but the piece was an absolute, unexpected sensation. More John Cage than George Gershwin, it was an unorthodox, avant garde musical magic trick, brimming with dark, atonal, brooding dissonance and inventive experimentation. Shinohara tapped the piano wires with sticks, plucked them, strummed them and muted them for what was a dazzling, darkly simmering musical scenario.
Rosenblatt's Paganini Variations took Paganini's original theme - probably best known for its use during the opening credits of The South Bank Show (remember that?) - and ran it through the blistering gamut of tempi and dynamics. The fourth movement of Kapustin's Sonata Fantasy firmly re-rooted us in the true jazz idiom - groovy, hip, funky, packed with jabbing, jagged syncopations, toe-tapping lines and grin-inducing harmonies.
An encore came in the form of a Shostokovich piano prelude - the one that was snatched as the theme for that classic Richard Bryers comedy, Ever Decreasing Circles - which brought things to a short, snappy and ebulliently satisfying close.
Once again, St George's lunchtime concert literally hit all the right notes. Once again, St George's lunchtime concert showcased a stunning performance from a world-class musician. Once again, it filled my Thursday lunch hour with 60 minutes of shimmering, musical magnificence. And once again, I'll have to capitulate to my newfound weekly addiction and reserve my tickets for next week's concert. For this weekly Thursday fix, I'm staying on a high and absolutely no way going cold turkey.
Superb. 5/5
Reviewed by Jamie Caddick for 365Bristol - the Bristol website.
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Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
