Venue: Esplanade Concert Hall
Conductor: Lan Shui
Pianist: Simon Trpceski
Programme:
Sergei Rachmaninov - Introduction to Aleko
Sergei Rachmaninov - Men's Dance from Aleko
Sergei Rachmaninov - Prince Rostislav, Symphonic Poem for Orchestra
Frederic Chopin - Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, Op.11
The highlight of the concert was Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor, performed by Macedonian pianist Simon Trpceski (Macedonia is a country in Southeast Europe).
The concerto did not start off well. The heavy and bleak starting notes was not accentuated sufficiently by the orchestra, and the tempo was also a bit too fast; not enough emphasis was placed and the orchestra just seemed to rush through it. Fortunately, Trpceski's playing saved the day. He was obviously an experienced pianist from the way he carried himself - he was entirely at ease and enjoying himself. He placed more emphasis on the dynamics of the concerto, and he expressed this through his body too. One amusing thing I noticed was that after every cadenza, Trpceski would turn around to look at the orchestra, as if asking them, "Did you hear that?" and "Is everything fine?"
His body movements were most apparent in the third movement of the concerto, Rondo (Vivace). Based on a traditional Polish dance, a Krakowiak, Trpceski looked, at times, almost like he was dancing as well, clearly delighted in the exuberance of the piece. (The Krakowiak was supposed to mimic the movement of horses.)
Overall, the concerto was quite enjoyable despite being dampened somewhat by the orchestra, whose accompaniment did not match up to Trpceski's playing.
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