Diane and I attended a wonderful piano recital at SUNY at Buffalo where Richard Goode performed before a Standing Room Only crowd. This recital was a partnership between the SUNY at Buffalo Music Department and the Ramssi P. Tick Concert Series. I’m a big fan of Richard Goode. I have most of his CDs. This is the third time I’ve seen him perform. Goode is a no-nonsense guy. He sits down, performs, takes a bow, and leaves. No inane patter. No “explaining” the music he’s about to play. Goode is all about playing the music. I was hoping Goode would play some Mozart (I play Goode’s Mozart CDs on a regular basis), but No Such Luck. Goode opened the recital with Schumann and Brahms. The whole second half of the recital was Chopin. I enjoyed the second half better than the first. GRADE: A-
PROGRAM:
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen ROBERT SCHUMANN
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/2. Kuriose Geschichte
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/3. Hasche-Mann
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/4. Bittendes Kind
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/5. Glückes genug
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/6. Wichtige Begebenheit
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/7. Träumerei
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/8. Am Kamin
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/9. Ritter vom Steckenpferd
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/10. Fast zu ernst
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/11. Fürchtenmachen
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/12. Kind im Einschlummern
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 Scenes from Childhood/13. Der Dichter spricht
Seven Fantasies, Op. 116; No. 1: Capriccio in D minor JOHANNES BRAHMS
Seven Fantasies, Op. 116; No. 2: Intermezzo in A minor
Seven Fantasies, Op. 116; No. 3: Capriccio in G minor
Seven Fantasies, Op. 116; No. 4: Intermezzo in E major
Seven Fantasies, Op. 116; No. 5: Intermezzo in E minor
Seven Fantasies, Op. 116; No. 6: Intermezzo in E major
Seven Fantasies, Op. 116; No. 7: Capriccio in D minor
Intermission
Nocturne for piano No. 16 in E flat major, Op. 55/2, CT. 123 FREDERIC CHOPIN
Mazurka for piano No. 7 in F minor, Op. 7/3, CT. 58
Mazurka for piano No. 29 in A flat major, Op. 41/4, CT. 79
Mazurka for piano No. 11 in E minor, Op. 17/2, CT. 61
Mazurka for piano No. 10 in B flat major, Op. 17/1, CT. 60
Mazurka for piano No. 13 in A minor, Op. 17/4, CT. 63
Scherzo for piano No. 4 in E major, Op. 54, CT. 200
Pianists should always play Chopin because otherwise he doesn’t get played. And that’s a real shame.
I would have loved an all Chopin recital, Patti.
I must admit I’ve been a fan of Chopin ever since seeing the silly Cornel Wilde/Merle Oberon biopic A SONG TO REMEMBER many years ago. I remember the drop of blood falling on the piano.
What I didn’t know until looking it up just now that it got seven or eight Oscar nominations, including Wilde as Best Actor. I don’t think they won any.
There are plenty of great Chopin CDs available, Jeff. The bargain of the bunch is The Chopin Collection [Box set, Import] by Artur Rubinstein. There are 11 CDs in this set, but the whole thing only costs $24.58 on AMAZON. It’s a steal!
I probably would have enjoyed the Schumann and Brahmas more than you did, but the Chopin sounds great.
Richard Goode can play everything well, Rick. The Chopin was more to my taste than the Schumann or Brahms. But I wish Goode had played some Mozart.