By Márcio Bezerra
Distinguished pianist Stephen Hough gave a satisfying piano recital Jan. 26 at The Society of the Four Arts. Known for his sharp intellect, in addition to his fine technical skills, Hough presented a clever program centered on two major romantic works in the key of B minor, alongside some charming salon-music numbers.
He started the program with works by the neglected Cécile Chaminade, a composer who lived well into the mid-1940s but who wrote music mostly in the Romantic style. Her miniatures have received increased attention thanks to the recent interest in women’s music.
In this case, the attention is well-deserved, as her works are exquisitely written. Hough sounded very much at home with the salon genre, bringing lovely colors from the Yamaha especially brought for his recital.
He also started the second part with more salon music, this time a Sonatina Nostalgica written by him. Unfortunately, the piece sounded less interesting than the Chaminade; his anachronistic approach to composition was unconvincing.
But one came to hear him tackling two major works of romantic pianism, the sonatas in B minor by Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin, respectively.
First, he performed the famous work by Liszt. Written in 1853, it is an experiment that still sounds daring to our ears. One of the most ambitious works of the Romantic era, here Liszt aimed at surpassing Beethoven’s legacy by writing an uninterrupted, multi-movement work in which motivic development was recurrent throughout the sections. Technically, this is a true Everest of the piano repertoire, demanding a virtuoso of the highest order.
For the most part, Hough tackled the work with technical sureness. His playing emphasized the overall structure of the work, sounding, at times, emotionally detached. Overall, his version of the sonata was satisfying if not transcendental.
Unfortunately, the audience failed to reward him with the applause he deserved, calling him back for only one curtain call.
The same cold treatment came after his performance of the other major work on the program, Chopin’s Sonata No. 3 (in B minor, Op. 58). Here Hough’s playing became less cerebral as he emphasized the many colors brought forth by the Polish composer. His rendition of third movement (Largo) was particularly touching thanks to his beautiful cantabile playing.
As noted above, the audience did not seem impressed by either the music or pianist, and both sonatas must have received a record-shattering “shortest applause in the history of piano recitals.” That this reflects poorly on our local audience, instead of on the distinguished pianist, is beyond any question.