Calgary pianist delivers drama, joy

In a recent Herald interview, young Calgary pianist Jan Lisiecki spoke warmly of his admiration for Mozart, thus:

“Mozart says a lot. You listen to Mozart, and right away you can hear everything. It’s crystal clear. Everything comes across immediately. You don’t have to listen for hours.

“From the first few notes, you know what the performer wants to say.”

From the sound of Lisiecki’s just released debut studio recording of Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 2, with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks conducted by Christian Zacharias, you’d have to say that truer words were never spoken.

Recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, the album represents a balance of drama and joy that is well, Mozartian, in both conception and execution.

Still a teenager, Lisiecki (who just turned 17 last month) plays with the assurance of a master in his artistic collaboration with Zacharias.

In the tradition of the best musicians, Lisiecki successfully follows the fine line between letting the music speak for itself and letting it speak for the performer.

For the listener, there is a strong sense of musical structure in the interpretation — the feeling for the music — that pianist and conductor obviously share.

The consensus of the two in musical approach is evident everywhere from the lively and energetic first movement of the C major concerto (No. 21), with its contrasting moods — there’s always shadow behind the light in Mozart — to the dramatic, almost fatalistic, momentum of the opening Allegro of the D minor (No. 20).

Strong, unassuming playing from Lisiecki throughout — and lots of playful exuberance in the more lighthearted passages.

The cadenzas show Lisiecki at his articulate best in summing up the musical high points of the music.

The two cadenzas in the D minor are by Beethoven; the final cadenza in the C major is by the famous pianist Paul Badura-skoda.

The first movement in the No. 21 is nicely encapsulated in an extended solo that is the work of Lisiecki himself — and sounds not a whit out of place with the vehicles of virtuosity and musicianship for piano alone penned by the other two.

Mozart himself would have approved.