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| Pianist Dorian Leljak |
Featuring:
Dorian
Leljak, piano
Programme:
Frédéric
Chopin
Prelude in C sharp
minor, Op. 45
Mazurka No.
3 in C sharp minor, Op. 63
Mazurka No.
4 in B minor, Op. 33
Nocturne No.
1 in B major, Op. 62
Nocturne No. 2 in E
major, Op. 62
Barcarolle in F
sharp major, Op. 60
Sergei
Rachmaninoff Sonata No. 2 in B flat
minor, Op. 36 (Second Version)
Serbian
pianist Dorian Leljak recently had a solo piano concert at the Philam Life
Auditorium presented by the Piano Teachers Guild of the Philippines
The
concert opened with the Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 45 which was the last and
also the longest prelude that Chopin wrote. The pieces that followed were
Mazurka No. 3 in C sharp minor, Op. 63 and Mazurka No. 4 in B minor, Op. 33 which
were played back to back. I’m not really familiar with these two pieces since
the Mazurkas were never my favorites among Chopin’s compositions. After this,
the two Nocturnes that make up Op. 62, No. 1 in B major and No. 2 in E major,
were played. These pieces which were among the last that Chopin wrote are more
subtle, intimate and introspective compared to his earlier and more accessible nocturnes
require a lot more attention from the listener in my opinion. The first half
ended with the popular Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60 which has the
feeling of paddling through a gently flowing river.
After
the interval, the concert resumed with Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Sonata No. 2
in B flat minor, Op. 36 (Second Version). This intense piece was such a change
of pace from the more subdued and sedate character of the pieces from the first
half. There was more tension, agitation, drama in this demanding sonata and one
has to have the technical chops to pull this one off since this piece is almost
like a symphony for the piano because of its epic nature. And Dorian did
exactly that, impressing the audience made up mostly of students from UST. After
this piece Dorian performed two charming encores: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sheep May Freely Graze transcribed by
Egon Petri and Nun komm der Heiden
Heiland transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni which made me rethink about my
aversion to playing Bach.
I
was so glad to see Dorian conduct the masterclass before this concert since I
was able to see and hear during the performance everything that he pointed out
during the class. As he played the opening Prelude, my mind went back on how he
talked about the consistency in the top and bass lines for optimum clarity.
Also, in the Nocturnes, I noticed how he employed the technique in continuing
the note taking into consideration the decay of sound. Lastly, he ditched being
nice in some parts of the Rachmaninoff sonata when it needed to be agitated and
tense. If I hadn’t gone to the masterclass, I wouldn’t have noticed these
minute details which greatly contributed my enjoyment of the entire
performance.
The Masterclass
As
I’ve mentioned at the beginning, Dorian conducted a masterclass at the UST
campus days before the concert. His impressive résumé (he is just the President
of the World Piano Teachers Association for crying out loud) made those who
were taking part in the masterclass very nervous at first. But quite
surprisingly, Dorian came out as very warm, friendly and the masterclass
actually was a lot of fun. I really appreciated it when he gave some background
information alongside specific instructions regarding technique. One example of
that was when he shared the history and the development of the keyboard
instrument to explain the concept of the decay in sound. And this was very
helpful when he taught how to maintain the flow of the melody right after a
long, sustained note that is subject to this decay in sound. He shared more
techniques like in bringing out the colors of the piano through being
consistent in the lines at the top, bass and those in between. One of the most
helpful as well was playing certain lines like the bass line for example with
no sound at all while playing the top line normally in order to perfect this
consistency. And what made me really dig his teaching style was when he
suggested to one pianist who played a Toccata piece that she listens to other
Toccatas by other composers and take note of the similarities and differences.
I do enjoy this method of knowing a lot regarding the piece and its composer,
realizing that there’s also a story behind the notes so that when I get to play
it, I eventually (and hopefully) play more than just the notes.
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| RAd with Dorian Leljak |
I’ve learned so much from Dorian during the masterclass that I was
inspired to practice really hard and to apply everything that he said to my
current pieces. Also, his solo piano concert made me yearn for a return
performance from him very soon and that he must play a piano concerto next
time. And it makes me really giddy when I recall when he told me that I seem to
be a well rounded musician.
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