ANOTHER TRIUMPH

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 491, 22 October 1928, Page 15

ANOTHER TRIUMPH

SHURA CHERKASSKY’S RECITAL ENTHUSIASTIC AUDIENCE Another remarkably successful recital was given in the Town Hall on Saturday night by the wonderful boy pianist, Shura Cherkassky. Tremendous applause was bestowed on the talented player by the enthusiastic audience, which demanded encore after encore at the close of the programme, and would still have liked more! No further evidence than this is necessary %o prove the extraordinary hold the youthful performer exercises over his listeners.

The programme was cast on sound lines, and contained many gems of pianoforte literature, traversing Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and some moderns. Bach was represented by the great “Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue,” which received a sterling performance. The Fantasy was massive in the extreme and the Fufeue rhythmic and dainty in the exposition, leading to a passionate conclusion, in which the part playing was not quite as clear as in the earlier stages. The Beethoven contribution was the “C Sharp Minor Sonata” (The Moonlight). The serene atmosphere of the opening movement was well realised, and the coda was beautifully shaded, especially the insistent motif in the left hand. The minuet and trio seemed a trifle square and lifeless, but the final movement was brisk and fiery enough, though slightly lacking subtlety in one or two places. Cherkassky does his Chopin very well indeed. The “Ballade in A flat” had not proceeded very far before one was made aware that a splendid interpretation was in progress, and as the work continued, so one’s admiration increased, for the pianist’s conception ■ was most poetic, his detail and nuance wholly delightful, and his style the essence of refinement. It was. perhaps, the most artistic performance of the concert, though the “Nocturne in D Flat,” which . followed it, was scarcely less enjoyable. A fine singing tone was obtained in the long melodic phrases, and the delicate opaque atmosphere was admirably sustained throughout the piece. The Mazurka in “F Sharp Minor” had the right lilt and character, while the thunderous

“Polonaise in A Flat” displayed the player’s astonishing technique and remarkable sense of rhythm. The introduction to the “Polonaise” was most dramatic and arresting, leading to a vigorous enunciation of the first subject, in which, however, the phrasing seemed a little short. The playing of the middle section, especially the left hand work, was magnificent, as was also the finale. A performance of gossamer lightness of the “Butterfly” study was added as an extra. Dvorsky’s interesting little piece. “L’Orient et L’Occident,” was more Eastern than Western in character, while Chasin’s “Rush Hour in HongKong” was vividly descriptive of a “Helter-Skelter”; both were admirably played. The “No. 12 Rhapsody” of Liszt concluded the programme numbers, and served to display Cherkassky’s amazing facility in bravura work. The music is of doubtful merit, but the playing was quite superb, and roused great enthusiasm, the young performer being accorded quite an ovation. The third and last concert will take ' place on Tuesday, when Schumann’s famous “Carnival” will b© played. S.K.P.