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| Pianist Christopher Janwong McKiggan |
Featuring:
Christopher
Janwong McKiggan, piano
Programme:
Johannes
Brahms
Piano Sonata No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op.2
Karim
Al-Zand
Paganini Reverie
Robert
Beaser
Pag Rag
Ludwig
van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major,
Op.110
Narong
Prangcharoen
Three Minds
Igor
Stravinsky/Guido Agosti
Firebird Suite
Pianist
Christopher Janwong McKiggan championed contemporary music during his brief
stop to the country for a solo piano concert in conjunction with the release of
his debut CD of new piano works.
Held
at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’
Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater) and co-presented by KMP Artists, the concert featured Chris’ renditions
of standard repertoire pieces by Johannes Brahms, Ludwig van Beethoven and Igor
Stravinsky alongside newer works by Karim Al-Zan, Robert Beaser and Narong
Prancharoen. Before playing each piece, Chris provided brief backgrounds about
the works enabling the audience to have a more informed listening experience.
Chris
opened up with Johannes Brahms’ Piano
Sonata No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 2, a curious way to start, for in other
recitals, a sonata such as this one usually wraps things up. But this piece, featuring
an arresting start, a subdued (though it builds later on) second movement, a
glorious Trio in the third movement, and a hefty finale showcased Chris’ range.
The next couple of pieces he played are Paganini
Reverie by Karim Al-Zand and Pag Rag
by Robert Beaser, commissioned works that are among the tracks in his debut CD Paganimania. The first is a dreamy,
drifting impressionistic work while the latter is a fun ragtime piece that
ended with a playful reminder of the source material for both pieces which is Caprice No. 24 in A minor by Niccolò
Paganini.
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| Chris rehearsing before the concert |
The
second sonata Chris performed on that night was Ludwig van Beethoven’s
penultimate, Piano Sonata No. 31 in A
flat major, Op.110. Even if he didn’t admit to the audience beforehand that
he almost never performs Beethoven (which is quite unheard of for concert
pianists), his performance of this piece would still feel to me that he was not
in his comfort zone especially with the fugue in the third movement. After
that, he performed another contemporary work which was Narong Prangcharoen’s Three Minds which consists of three
short movements depicting different state of minds. Of all the three, I was
mostly drawn to the middle movement “Absent” that featured a series of hypnotic
notes that lingered on for a few beats, giving out an eerie harmony, even after
the strong bass notes were already released.
Chris
saved his best for last with the Firebird
Suite, Guido Agosti’s piano transcription of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet
music. He handled with ease the complex Danse infernale, showed such delicate
touch with the Berceuse and then used the glissando to great effect and
heightening the sense of excitement in the Finale. It is still difficult to
describe how giddy I always feel whenever I hear the start of the Finale
whether it’s being heralded by the horn in the orchestral version or by a lone
pianist who is consistent with his layers during this part. When I asked for
feedback after the concert, I never heard anyone from the audience who didn’t
have the Firebird Suite as their
favorite moment in the whole evening.
After
the concert, people snagged copies of the Paganimania
CD, released by Albany Records that were available for sale at the lobby. And it quickly became a CD
signing session for Chris. Even though attendance could’ve been a lot better,
one thing that I found remarkable was that most of the
audience was made up of mostly young people. The evening was indeed a magnificent display of youthful exuberance. I guess that Chris’ youth and
pleasant looks, bringing contemporary works into the fore, and the wonders of the
internet were instrumental in bringing out the younger set this time.
