Chopin Society shakes things up this spring
Audience demand for Bronfman, Liu concerts justifies move to Orpheum
Vancouver's Chopin Society has two significant concerts scheduled in the days ahead: one of Vancouver's old favourites, Yefim Bronfman, in mid-April and new contender Bruce Liu in mid-May.
Normally, Chopin Society recitals take place in the Vancouver Playhouse, as that space is exactly the right spot for its recitals: intimate size, decent acoustics, and a convenient location.
But, as if to highlight the need for new spaces for music, the Playhouse is sometimes insufficient for demand; there are few downtown options between the Playhouse (650-plus seats) and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and the Orpheum, both just shy of 3,000 seats. In the normal course of events, that's just too big for an effective recital space.
However, both the Bronfman and the Liu recitals are exceptional events, and while it's long overdue that we get cracking on a space that's between 1,000 and 2,000 seats, there are situations where the Orpheum does just fine.
Both concerts are just that. There is enormous public interest in Liu, a young pianist on everyone's radar since his win at the 18th International Chopin Competition in Warsaw.
Born in Paris, Lui was raised in Montreal, where he studied with Richard Raymond, and at the Université de Montréal with Dang Thai Son.
He's gained exclusive recording artist status with Deutsche Grammophon, and his first album of music by Chopin was hailed by Gramophone Magazine as one of the best 2021 classical albums.
Liu's return visit to the Chopin Society offers something of a tasting menu, and an interesting one at that. Chopin's big Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor anchors the first half, with a Haydn sonata to launch, while the Variations by the late composer, pianist and jazz enthusiast Nikolai Kapustin hints at another Soviet-era extravaganza later in the program.
Somewhat unexpectedly, a set of pieces by Jean-Philippe Rameau starts the second half; Rameau of course wrote for the harpsichord, but in recent seasons more and more of his work is being essayed on modern piano. Prokofiev's extravagant Seventh Sonata rounds out a full afternoon of music.
Anticipated demand for the Liu event more than justifies a recital in the Orpheum. As does the April program of Bronfman, a pianist well known by Vancouver audiences with previous performances with the Vancouver Symphony and for the Vancouver Recital Society. One needs have no reservations about hearing Bronfman in the Orpheum: his larger-than-life musical personality and intense sound mean that this will be a sure thing.
Bronfman starts his program with a rather traditional repertoire: Schubert's A minor sonata, D.784, then Schumann's Carnival Scenes from Vienna.
But the second half of the program includes a bit of a surprise: a keyboard work by Esa-Pekka Salonen, best known for his conducting — and for the recent controversy surrounding his principled departure from the San Francisco Symphony.
Salonen is also a fine composer. Classical fans may remember his wonderful L.A. Variations done here by Bramwell Tovey almost a decade ago. His keyboard piece Sisar dates from 2013 and was commissioned for Bronfman.
And to end? Well, Prokofiev's Seventh Sonata.
Normally this sort of programming overlap is the bane of any presenter's existence. Here it takes on the nature of an athletic and interpretive contest. And you can be sure no one's going to mind hearing the Soviet master's great war sonata twice in fairly rapid succession.