Farkas Gabor, Piano,
with The Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
On Sunday afternoon April 10, 2016, I enjoyed an all Liszt concert at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, with pianist Farkas Gabor and the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (conductor Adam Medveczky) "In the Footsteps of Liszt". This concert was part of the Spring Festival, which was in full swing during my stay.
Gabor is a multi -award winner who performed in Carnegie Hall as winner of the Worldwide Audition of the New York Concert Artists and Associates in 2015/2016. He has notably won first prize in the Liszt Piano Competition in Weimar and first prize in the Bela Bartok Competition in Austria. His album, "An Evening With Liszt" earned the Prix du Disque of the Ferenc Liszt Society.
The program was extensive, consisting of solo piano selections in the first half to include Widmung, Forgotten Waltz no 1, Valse-Impromptu, Fountains of the Villa D'Este, Gondoliera, Canzonetta, Tarantella, and Hungarian Rhapsody no 12. The second half included Liszt's Piano Concertos no 1 and no 2.in E flat major and A major respectively.
What first struck me about Gabor's playing was his largely passionate, gargantuan approach to the instrument and to Liszt's music in particular.I have rarely heard such a dramatic fortissimo or idyllic pianissimo, and found it to be exciting. The music was cute, sweet, gently intimate, delicate and personal when appropriate. Passages glistened, while special moments were luscious. Gabor took numerous liberties, provided heartfelt and lush romantic gush, and offered overall a combination of poetic, grandiose, descriptive playing. Finally, he had technique to die for.
He opened interestingly with expressive splitting of the hands (Widmung), which I did not seem to notice as the concert continued.
The pinnacle of the first half which was the showy Hungarian Rhapsody no 12, had audience members swept away with drama that could have been Liszt himself at the piano.
Gabor did not play without fault. In soft passages his priority was not always rhythmic control, and I was confused in the early part of the concert with some waffling rhythmic inconsistency. Additionally, some octaves in the concertos were not clean. His expressive conviction, tremendous sound and unwavering technique made up for these blemishes, so consequently I did not mind the flaws in the slightest.
By now the audience had begun its' typical Hungarian applause style which showed appreciation to the performer with a slow rhythmic unison clap that was insistent. I have not heard this applause type before; it seemed to be the norm for Budapest who takes its' classical music seriously!
The Piano Concertos nos 1 and 2 were companioned with a pristine European orchestra, small to medium in size. Solo clarinet, oboe, flute and cello wowed the audience with duet capabilities, while the orchestra as a whole played with detail, gorgeous shape, expressive attention to harmonic changes, finesse, drama, passion, clean precision, and with perfect ensemble and support. The orchestra showcased outstanding string and brass sections and, in sum, was all one would expect from a fine European orchestra.
An additional part of the attraction of this concert was the hall, with a design to produce superior acoustics, and beauty to enhance listening pleasure. The pictures below will give you some idea of its' architecture.
1.side view from the first balcony,
2. view from the front main hall,
3. view of the stage from the first balcony.
Next up is Beethoven and Rachmaninoff , stay tuned!
Sally Rowsell, Ottawa, M. Mus ( rowsellpiano.ca)
