Wynona Yinuo Wang, Pianist Klavierhaus - New York

[Donald Isler]

Wynona Yinuo Wang, Pianist
Klavierhaus - New York
Sunday, July 3rd, 2022


Janacek: Piano Sonata
Rachmaninoff: Daisies
Rachmaninoff: Prelude in B Minor, Op. 32, No. 10
Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin


Last night's concert from Klavierhaus, which I watched via livestream, was supposed to be a performance by pianist/photographer Peter Schaaf. However, he was indisposed, so his place was taken, on two day's notice, by pianist Wynona Yinuo Wang. While it was unfortunate that Mr. Schaaf couldn't appear, it was a pleasure to hear Ms. Wang once more.

What kept impressing me throughout her recital was how VERY musical she is! While she has the "mechanics" of playing the piano under excellent control, nothing ever sounded mechanical. Her tone is lovely, and everything she does is communicative, expressive, and emotionally involved.

After the recital she did an interview with host Joe Patrych, and I'll mention some of the things that were discussed then.

As Mr. Patrych pointed out, Janacek's music is sometimes more advanced harmonically than that of the other two composers whose music was featured on this program, though he was about twenty years older than them. Originally there were three movements to his Piano Sonata but, being dissatisfied with much of his work, Janacek destroyed the last movement. Apparently he also tried to destroy the other two movements but someone preserved them. The Sonata has both passion and mystery, and Ms. Wang played with spontaneity and subtle shadings. While this music doesn't sound like Bartok I was reminded of Bartok both because of its ruggedness, and its rugged individuality.

Daisies, by Rachmaninoff, is a transcription the composer made of his song by the same name. It was lyrical and fragrant.

The B Minor Prelude is the one of which there's a famous recording on YouTube with the great Benno Moiseiwitch playing it, and speaking of his conversation with Rachmaninoff who told Moiseiwitsch that, yes, he correctly described the Prelude as being about a "return." Ms. Wang's performance had a deep nostalgia, and, following a wonderfully constructed climax of chords and octaves, she led us on an intriguing path back to the opening theme.

Le Tombeau de Couperin was written by Ravel during World War I in memory of friends who had died in the war. Yet it is not a tragic-sounding work as it has, instead, charm and lightness. It also does not sound like the music of Couperin, but the movements are named for those of Baroque suites of his era, and feature some quasi-Baroque ornaments.

The Prelude was bubbly, sensitive and sensuous, while the Fugue was thoughtful. The Forlane was casual, frilly and elegant, followed by the Rigaudon, which was vigorous, though with a thoughtful middle section. The Menuet was stately, elegant and deeper than it appears on the surface. And the concluding Toccata was full of shooting sparks and lyrical melodies, with a wonderful buildup leading into the coda.

Two other interesting takes from the interview that followed the concert were that 1) both Ms. Wang and Mr. Patrych particularly like the little played First Piano Sonata of Rachmaninoff, and 2) they also think his equally rarely played Fourth Piano Concerto is his finest. This reminded me that in 1968 or 1969 Vladimir Ashkenazy played the four Rachmaninoff concerti on four successive nights at Carnegie Hall. (I heard the Third Concerto, which was my first exposure to that amazing work!) Perhaps Ms. Wang would like to do that some day?

Donald Isler