For nearly four decades the Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concert series has brought the world’s brightest and best pianists to Fresno. Artists such as Enmanuel Ax, Paul Badura-Skoda, Ruth Laredo, Garrick Ohlsson and Philippe Entremont have performed challenging and beautiful piano literature with the highest level of musicianship.
On Sunday, November 15, 2009 at 7 PM in the recital hall at CSUF a new name was added to that list. Nikolaas Kende is a native of Antwerp, Belgium and has performed to critical acclaim in numerous European venues. He recently appeared with the Waco, Texas symphony as a concerto soloist. His appearance in Fresno is his first full length American recital.
Sometimes awards, like the Nobel Peace Prize, are given on the basis of future promise. Kende may not yet belong in the pantheon of international stars, but he has technical and interpretative ability that show promise and deserve high praise. Remember his name. Someday, in the not so distant future, Fresno will be proud to say that his American recital career began here.
His program was not one of overwhelming technical difficulty but when technical dexterity was demanded Kende clearly was up to the challenge. The opening Schubert Sonata in A Minor, D. 537 is filled with delicate melodies and charming modulations. Kende understood the poetry of each phrase. The first movement was followed by a pristine second movement. This melody, which has been used as the theme of a popular television series, he played with charm and grace. The final movement had moments of drama, but generally seemed rather restrained.
The “Dances of Marosszek” by Zoltán Kodály offered some of the best moments of the recital. Kende painted a mural with contrasting colors and exciting rhythm. The opening scene was dark and foreboding, the pedal was used like impasto in an expressionist painting. The mood changed from romance, to humor, to enthusiastic folk dancing and Kende was in control of the canvas. One moment we were charmed with delicate flourishes in the upper register and the next we were overwhelmed with powerful octaves. Through the use of dynamics and tempi Kende brought the composition to a powerful conclusion. This work, more than any other on the program, displayed the breadth of Kende’s interpretive ability.
Of all the Beethoven sonatas he might have selected, Kende chose the Sonata in E Minor, Op. 90 to open the second half of the evening. This is Beethoven at his most serene. There is little of the sturm und drang for which Beethoven is famous. The music suited Kende perfectly. This was carefully etched classicism, a performance of ideas rather than grand gestures. This was poetry in which each note was placed with care and every phrase played with musicality.
The final works of the program were by Franz Liszt. Sonetto 104 del Petrarca which Liszt wrote as a remembrance of his travels in Italy, and Ballade No 2. Kende played the Sonetto beautifully but with more restraint than one usually finds in Liszt. It was immediately followed by the Ballade as though the Sonetto and the Ballade were intended as two movements of a single composition. Kende kept his hands on the keyboard during the transition. The Ballade is a typical Liszt exercise in excess. Rapid arpeggios and scales decorate the work. Kende was master of the music. He made the most difficult flourishes seem effortless.
The audience responded with enthusiasm and he rewarded them with Liszt’s elaboration of Robert Schumann’s Widmung as an encore. Kende’s sensitive performance of this familiar work brought the evening to a beautiful conclusion.
