The Czech pianist Lukas Vondracekis the son of two professional pianists. He gave his first concert at the age of 4, made his first international tour at the age of 10, and made his New York debut aged 16.
He is now 28 and an international celebrity, having built a big reputation while visiting 33 countries in Europe, North America, the Far East and elsewhere. He played in South Africa two years ago and created a huge impression on audiences here. Now he is back, and a recital for the Friends of Music at the Durban Jewish Centre confirmed that he is an exceptionally gifted virtuoso pianist.
He presented a varied programme that included some beautiful music that was probably unknown to most members of the audience. His keyboard manner is unusual. He adopts a hunched, almost crouching, position and plays with intensity and unwavering commitment.
He opened with Mozart’s Sonata No 10 in C major, K.330, one of the finest of the composer’s 19 piano sonatas. Vondracek adopted quite a bold, firm approach to the music, and the result was totally compelling.
Then followed three dances by his Czech compatriot, Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884). These were brilliant, extended pieces, running for about 15 minutes and quite advanced for their time (they date from 1879), with unusual harmonies and strong rhythms. They were played with great zest and skill.
A Capriccio by the Hungarian composer Erno Dohnanyi (1877-1960) was another challenging work, difficult but not, I thought , as attractive as the Smetana pieces.
Another Czech composer, Josef Suk (1874-1935), son-in-law of Antonin Dvorak, was represented by some lovely melodious pieces.
The pianist completed his programme with a magnificent performance of Schumann’s Etudes Symphoniques, Symphonic Studies, written in 1837.
This is a big, difficult work, a mixture of poetry, drama and spectacular keyboard display. At times it was almost as exciting visually as it was aurally, but Vondracek always showed his ability to look beyond the dazzling technique into the subtleties of the music. An ovation from the audience brought forth a Brahms encore. The prelude player of the evening was a skilful recorder player, Amy Diack.
With Bobby Mills at the piano, she played two pieces, a movement from a concerto by the 18th century composer Giuseppe Sammartini and the well-known Czardas by Vittorio Monti. Friends of Music acknowledge the support of its funders including the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund. – Artsmart.co.za