Piano Recital Review (Pianist: Alexander Kobrin)

Four years ago, Olga Kern (2001 Van Cliburn co-Gold Medalist) came to town and played a solo recital with works
by R. Schumann, Chopin, Messiaen, Liszt. A helluva performance.

Tonight’s performer was Alexander Kobrin, the 2005 Van Cliburn Competition Gold Medalist. I had high expectations going in, and was quite delighted to see the Brahms Rhapsodies on the program (i learned the B minor Rhapsody a few years back and am currently learning the G minor one). However, the recital got off to a shaky start as the Brahms rhapsodies were played with excessive rubatto and sounded ‘rushed’. If you’re a fan of Brahms’ music, you appreciate the fact that it sounds good without being overly sentimental. Kobrin rushed through the two rhapsodies and you almost get the sense that he was trying too hard to display virtuosity in a piece that requires more delicate handling. The listener never got a chance to feel the expansive chord progressions and the rhythmic pulses of the B minor rhapsody nor did he bring out the Jeckyll-Hyde quality of the G minor rhapsody.

The other Brahms shorter piano works that he played started off sounding just as perturbed, though after the A minor Intermezzo, he began to give more consideration to the music. In contrast, his playing of the Rachmaninoff Etudes Tableaux was excellent and it was only during which you understood what the judges at the Van Cliburn Competition heard. Kobrin also played two encore pieces–the A Major Prelude (No. 7) and the G Major (No. 3) Prelude.

In conclusion, Kobrin played the Rachmaninoff pieces brilliantly, but the Brahms pieces seemed foreign to him as if he lacked the maturity to play ‘deeper’ pieces.

The real Van Cliburn, 71, will be in town next month to perform the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Florida Orchestra. Tickets are $75-$150 dollars. I hope it’s not sold out…

Below’s the program:

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Van Cliburn Gold Medalist

Soloist
Alexander Kobrin

Program
Once every four years, a select group of the world’s finest young pianists test their considerable talents in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, named by the Chicago Tribune “the most prestigious classical piano contest in the world.” You’ll relish the profound virtuosity of this year’s winner, Alexander Kobrin, who represents the finest from a field of 147 contestants from 33 countries.

Recital Program:
BRAHMS — Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79 (No. 1 in B minor, No. 2 in G minor)

BRAHMS — Fantasies, Op. 116 (Capriccio in D minor, Intermezzo in A minor, Capriccio in G minor, Intermezzo in E major, Intermezzo in in E minor, Intermezzo in E major, Capriccio in D minor)

RACHMANINOFF — Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 39 (No. 1 in C minor, No. 2 in A minor, No. 3 in F-sharp minor, No. 4 in B minor, No. 5 in E-flar minor, No. 6 in A minor, No. 7 in C minor, No. 8 in D minor, No. 9 in D major)