Arabeske - Schumann
Kreisleriana - Schumann
Gaspard de la nuit - Ravel
6 Preludes - Rachmaninov
Vladimir Ashkenazy's recital on Thursday night, in the celebrity series at the National Concert Hall, lived up to the promise of his reputation. With a 45-year career behind him, both as a pianist and, more recently, a conductor, he is still one of the grand wizards of the piano.
This visit to Dublin has a dogged history. For various reasons, his previous scheduled appearance had been postponed, and the replacement concert had to be cancelled. Thursday's recital went perfectly until near the very end. There was no hint of a problem until the second of the billed Rachmaninov Preludes. Over a few seconds, Op. 23 No. 7 unravelled, then stopped. Ashkenazy quickly left the platform, muttering that he'd be back. Nearly 10 minutes later, we were told he was unwell and was unable to continue. The audience reaction was generous, and sympathetic of his position.
And why not? This recital included so much playing to remember! Some movements of Schumann's Kreisleriana were taken at extraordinary speed. But such was the control that they never felt rushed; and, even in those movements, Ashkenazy's skill at projecting textures, layered through different types of tone in different registers, was a marvel. This was not the most profound Kreisleriana I have heard, but it was integrated and elevating.
The reputation of Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit as one of the great virtuoso pieces seemed incidental to a performance in which colour and rhythmic life were far more important than obvious display. And so they should be. One of the most telling aspects of this Gaspard, and of the recital as a whole, was its restraint. Virtuosity was there not to thrill, but to woo. It did that, in full measure.