Pogorelich in Concert, 10/24

[faulty_damper]

Last night, I saw and heard Ivo Pogorelich play.  I'm rather disappointed.

Did you know, he shaved his head?  He's as bald as this graemlin --->

So his program changed from playing two Beethoven sonatas, then a Scriabin sonata, intermission, then Rachmaninov's Musical Moments 1, then three Liszt transcendental etudes.
Here a link to his program.
https://www.performances.org/performances/performances.asp?PerformanceID=409

This is how he played it:

Beethoven's Op78 sonata in F#dur
Beethoven's Op111 sonata in Cmoll/dur
intermission
Scriabin's sonata #2, "Fantasy"
Liszt's TE Feux Follets, Wild Jagd, "Appassionata"
Rachmaninov's Musical Moments #1

Now this change in program is nothing worth mentioning other than it caused a lot of confusion.  What is worth mentioning is that from 7pm to 7:50pm, he only played the two sonatas by Beethoven.  That's right!  In 50 minutes, he played two sonatas!  The F#dur sonata is 11 minutes long at the most.  That means with the remaining 39 minutes, he could have played the Hammerclavier sonata!  But no.  He just played Beethoven's last piano sonata.  This was excruciating!  He played the F#dur in well over 11 minutes allowing him time to fill the hall with just ear-laboring frustration!  The only time he ever played at a good tempo was the 'jazzy' part of the Op111.  He was even able to get a few people tapping their foot or bobbing their heads to it.  But oh my god...  It was excruciating once that part was over.  Fifty minutes for two sonatas.  Expecially these two.

So the 20 minute intermission came and went.  He got back on stage.  He seemed to be walking very slowly and he looked so stiff.  Did he just open his casket and come out on stage after a two-century hiatus?

So the Scriabin sonata #2 was played.  And played slowly.  I have never heard this sonata before but it was just so slow.  It was pretty, the piece, but not the way he played it.  Excruciating.

And the Liszt Transcendental Etudes were played.  These etudes were his strong suit for this night.  His Feux Follets was much better than the other pieces although his tendency for slowing down to stress/accent certain passages was clearly evident as he did the same thing to everything else before.  The Wild Hunt was better played as the tempo was pretty good though he did slow down in certain passages.  And the Appasionata etude was not as musically well played though his tempo was good for the way he played it.

And he gets applaud after he finished the last Liszt etude.  In the program, he was supposed to play the Rachmaninov Musical Moments #1 but he didn't.  So he leaves the stage but everyone keeps on applauding and so he comes back out.  He leaves, we continue applauding, he comes back out and sits down.  Is this going to be his encore?  No.  He's just making up for the Rach he didn't play.  I have never heard this piece before so I wasn't even sure if it was the Rach Musical Moments.  I assume it was though.  But it was played rather well.

So in summary, he played so slowly, my ears fell off.
I picked them back up and stuck them back on.
Maybe he was ill, perhaps he didn't get the shot.
You know the flu season is here, or there, in him?
He was walking stiff, too stiff so his bow was just a nod.
And he was without hair, you know.  Chemo?
But was his performance shoddily played yesterday?
I payed 35, and damn right I feel cheated.
I thought he was good?
Martha?  Are you there?  Were you there last night?
If you were, you wouldn't have shouted a thing.
But some of the audience did shout one thing...
Ivo!  Ivo!  Ivo!
Three times he came back on stage.
And then the applause all died out.

fDsF

[BoliverAllmon]

yeah, I saw him perform a couple weeks ago here with the same program. i admit the beethoven was extremely slow. It was weird to see him without hair also.

[steinwaymodeld]

Last night, I saw and heard Ivo Pogorelich play.  I'm rather disappointed.

Did you know, he shaved his head?  He's as bald as this graemlin --->

So his program changed from playing two Beethoven sonatas, then a Scriabin sonata, intermission, then Rachmaninov's Musical Moments 1, then three Liszt transcendental etudes.
Here a link to his program.
https://www.performances.org/performances/performances.asp?PerformanceID=409

This is how he played it:

Beethoven's Op78 sonata in F#dur
Beethoven's Op111 sonata in Cmoll/dur
intermission
Scriabin's sonata #2, "Fantasy"
Liszt's TE Feux Follets, Wild Jagd, "Appassionata"
Rachmaninov's Musical Moments #1

Now this change in program is nothing worth mentioning other than it caused a lot of confusion.  What is worth mentioning is that from 7pm to 7:50pm, he only played the two sonatas by Beethoven.  That's right!  In 50 minutes, he played two sonatas!  The F#dur sonata is 11 minutes long at the most.  That means with the remaining 39 minutes, he could have played the Hammerclavier sonata!  But no.  He just played Beethoven's last piano sonata.  This was excruciating!  He played the F#dur in well over 11 minutes allowing him time to fill the hall with just ear-laboring frustration!  The only time he ever played at a good tempo was the 'jazzy' part of the Op111.  He was even able to get a few people tapping their foot or bobbing their heads to it.  But oh my god...  It was excruciating once that part was over.  Fifty minutes for two sonatas.  Expecially these two.

So the 20 minute intermission came and went.  He got back on stage.  He seemed to be walking very slowly and he looked so stiff.  Did he just open his casket and come out on stage after a two-century hiatus?

So the Scriabin sonata #2 was played.  And played slowly.  I have never heard this sonata before but it was just so slow.  It was pretty, the piece, but not the way he played it.  Excruciating.

And the Liszt Transcendental Etudes were played.  These etudes were his strong suit for this night.  His Feux Follets was much better than the other pieces although his tendency for slowing down to stress/accent certain passages was clearly evident as he did the same thing to everything else before.  The Wild Hunt was better played as the tempo was pretty good though he did slow down in certain passages.  And the Appasionata etude was not as musically well played though his tempo was good for the way he played it.

And he gets applaud after he finished the last Liszt etude.  In the program, he was supposed to play the Rachmaninov Musical Moments #1 but he didn't.  So he leaves the stage but everyone keeps on applauding and so he comes back out.  He leaves, we continue applauding, he comes back out and sits down.  Is this going to be his encore?  No.  He's just making up for the Rach he didn't play.  I have never heard this piece before so I wasn't even sure if it was the Rach Musical Moments.  I assume it was though.  But it was played rather well.

So in summary, he played so slowly, my ears fell off.
I picked them back up and stuck them back on.
Maybe he was ill, perhaps he didn't get the shot.
You know the flu season is here, or there, in him?
He was walking stiff, too stiff so his bow was just a nod.
And he was without hair, you know.  Chemo?
But was his performance shoddily played yesterday?
I payed 35, and *** right I feel cheated.
I thought he was good?
Martha?  Are you there?  Were you there last night?
If you were, you wouldn't have shouted a thing.
But some of the audience did shout one thing...
Ivo!  Ivo!  Ivo!
Three times he came back on stage.
And then the applause all died out.

fDsF

THe encore was nothing else but the magnificient Balakirev Islamey, I attended the very same recital in Chicago, and he did play the Rach MM1 too.

[julie391]

what are the timings?

im always curious to hear this guy's latest quirkiness

he is a massive talent for sure

[steinwaymodeld]

what are the timings?

im always curious to hear this guy's latest quirkiness
he is a massive talent for sure

Actually I didn't think the Op.111 was that bad, I think the first mvt was well executed, and of course the 'jazzy' part was very well played in the 2nd mvt.

The Op.78 was my least favorite piece in the whole recital.

In contrast to the post above, I think the Scraibin 2nd was one of the greatest performance in the whole programme along with the Feux Follets (which I don't think I have heard any more graceful recording, and the tempo was just right, wasn't rushing like Berevozsky) And I think a lot of people overlooked his Scriabin 2nd, as it was followed by the mouth-opening Liszt TEs. I think the 2nd Sonata, 2nd movement he captured the spirit of Scriabin just the way I like it. Especially the part with all the voicing and counterpoints, I think he totally understands that particular music. I am looking forward to his other Scriabin sonatas.

As for the Islamey, he played it with normal speed (as Normal, I meant around 9 mins). The fast part in the beginning wasn't rushed thru, but with incredible clarity and eccentricity and MY GOD HOW WELL HE created all those layers and dynamic changes, I think as this piece is so fast-pace, he very well demostrated his ability to change the color and dynamic on piano. It's a perfect show piece for him I think.

And maybe Dampy(hope u don't mind I call u that), haven't heard this piece before, that's why he wasn't impressed, but I was left sitting on the tip of my chair. And left the concert halll most satisfied. Even he didn't appear after the recital.


And yes, I was so shocked by his bald head.

And yea, He played the Rachmaninoff moment musical as indicated, the beginning of the 2nd half.