Wednesday, 22 March 2023

Singing vocal lines plus phenomenal power in Lugansky's Rachmaninov


7.30pm, Monday 20 March, 2023

Wigmore Hall, London











Sergey Rachmaninov (1873-1943):

            10 Preludes, Op. 23

                        Prelude in F sharp minor

                        Prelude in B flat

                        Prelude in D minor

                        Prelude in D

                        Prelude in G minor

                        Prelude in E flat

                        Prelude in C minor

                        Prelude in A flat

                        Prelude in E flat minor

                        Prelude in G flat

            Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42

            Études-tableaux, Op. 39

                        Étude-tableau in C minor

                        Étude-tableau in A minor

                        Étude-tableau in F sharp minor

                        Étude-tableau in B minor

                        Étude-tableau in E flat minor

                        Étude-tableau in A minor

                        Étude-tableau in C minor

                        Étude-tableau in D minor

                        Étude-tableau in D

Encores:

            Friedrich Kreisler (1875-1962), arr. Rachmaninov:

                        Liebesleid

            Rachmaninov:

                        Oriental Sketch


'Lugansky is a cool performer yet never aloof, and his smile in response to enthusiastic applause showed genuine pleasure. That pleasure also shone through in those lyrical melodies'.


Preludes:

'He also offered the full range of Rachmaninov's beloved bells, from an incredibly light touch in the high single notes at the end of that D major Prelude, to the weighty tolls at the end of the A flat Prelude'. 


Corelli Variations:

'Lugansky was mesmerising in the rapid virtuosity, but it was in the Intermezzo's improvisatory melody, and the wandering arabesque of the 15th, with its insistent blue note, that he was at his most captivating'.


Études-tableaux:

'In the Op.39 Études-tableaux, Lugansky showed us even more drive, with phenomenal, almost crazy rapid action at the top of the keyboard in no. 3'.


'It was impossible not to delight in a performer so clearly at home in his repertoire'.


Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

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