International Pianist Sofya Gulyak in Concert

Pianist Sofya Gulyak

Featuring:

Sofya Gulyak, piano

Programme:

Sergei Rachmaninoff

     Morceaux de fantaisie Op. 3

          No. 1 Elégie

          No. 2 Prélude 

          No. 4 Polichinelle

     Etude Tableaux in E flat minor, Op. 39 No. 5

     Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42

Alexander Scriabin 2 Poèmes, Op. 32

Dmitri Shostakovich Prelude and Fugue in D flat major, Op. 87, No. 15

Sergei Prokofiev Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82

Sofya Gulyak’s performance during the final concert of the season by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra at the Cultural Center of the Philippines was barely finished and yet the talk during the meet and greet was already on her upcoming solo concert scheduled just a few weeks later. The main cause of excitement for this concert among the piano enthusiasts was that Gulyak, a Russian pianist and winner of the 2009 Leeds International Piano Competition, prepared an all Russian programme.

Too bad that there was another event happening at the Main Theater Lobby right before the concert and I stayed there too long. By the time that I got down to the Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) were Gulyak's concert was being held, the audience were already going out for the intermission. So I missed the entire first half of the concert! A lot of friends who were there were surprised when they learned that I failed to the Sergei Rachmaninoff portion of the concert. They constantly reminded me throughout the intermission that I would regret my decision later.

I just had to accept that I could no longer turn back time so I just had to be content with catching just the second half of the programme. The second half started with Alexander Scriabin’s 2 Poèmes, Op. 32. There was a sense of déjà vu when Gulyak finished this one since the ending here has no resolution. And because of this, the audience didn’t applaud when it was done since they weren't even aware that the piece already ended. This is exactly what happened during the first solo concert of Gulyak when no one applauded after the opening Mazurkas by Chopin. Just like before, she went on to play the next piece which was Dmitri Shostakovich’s Prelude and Fugue in D flat major, Op. 87, No. 15. The prelude is one of Shostakovich’s more playful pieces and this delightful piece hinted on the themes of We Wish You a Merry Christmas. The fugue that followed was something else: a superb chromatic display of exciting and boundless energy which contrasted greatly with the more sedate Scriabin piece.

Gulyak then played Sergei Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 82 which was performed dazzlingly despite the frantic nature of the piece in some places. The sonata ventures a lot into dissonant and atonal territory that in the hands of a lesser pianist, this piece can easily turn out into a jumbled mess and merely banging of the keys. But for Gulyak, her expert fingers gave a sense of clarity to this piece that takes a lot of effort to digest even for a seasoned listener. While her last piece is a heavyweight of a twentieth century piece, her first encore took the audience back to an earlier and simpler era. She played the first movement of Muzio Clementi’s Sonata in C major, Op. 33, No. 3 (she played the third movement during the PPO concert). And her second and final encore was the Adagio from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto in D minor BWV 974 transcribed from Alessandro Marcello’s Oboe Concerto. This was again a very surprising choice of music from Gulyak since this was very subdued and restrained compared to the bombastic Prokofiev that was played earlier.

As expected, Sofya Gulyak was received warmly by the audience during the meet and greet. I admit that she intimidated me during her first but she was actually very nice and sweet off stage. It's been some time since this concert, and now constantly wonder how her Rachmaninoff was. I guess it's time to take a trip to the CCP Library and view their video archives.