De Stiftskerk in the beautiful village of Stift, nestled deep in the Twente countryside, was the setting for this latest piano recital from the Russian-born pianist, Sofia Vasheruk, as part of the first Piano Festival Ootmarsum, a series of fifteen concerts given by renowned pianists and young talent. This intimate piano recital was a chance for this local audience to hear a most talented musician on her home ground after a recent tour to both Mexico and Sicily performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no.1.
Sofia opened the programme with two works by the Spanish composer, Frederico Mompou, in which she contrasted the wonderful stillness of the La fuente y la campana with the swirling and undulating semiquavers of El lago. Cheeky little descending figures and bird-like trills were highly evocative, conjuring images of fluttering birds all around.
In the flash of an eye, Sofia turned her attention to three works by Russian composers: Rachmaninov, Lyadov and Tchaikovsky. Beautifully lyrical melodic lines were abundant in the Lyadov Prelude Op 11, No. 1 as the rocking bass line moved us ever forward; the cross rhythms building to a sumptuous, yet reserved climax. This was a work much suited to the clear and slightly resonant acoustic of this fabulous little church.
Every concert from Sofia feels like a whirlwind journey around the world, and this concert was no exception! After wending our way through America with Samuel Barber’s Excursions Op. 20, No. 1 en route to Germany, care of Schubert and Schumann, we found ourselves in the safety of Claude Debussy and the French masterpiece that is Clair de lune.
This concert was a masterclass in lyrical playing. Sofia’s ability to find and maintain the most lyrical of lines was a joy to hear as again demonstrated in the shimmering beauty of the lyrical left hand in L’isle joyeuse amidst all the turbulence of cascading passage work.
Finishing any piano recital with Liszt’s La Campanella from the Grand Etudes de Pagannini is always guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of those in the audience and Sofia’s reading did not disappoint. This is a favourite, and rightly so as she performs this highly technical and incredibly difficult number with a certain panache. In a previous review, I made the comment that if any students had previously questioned the need for practising scales, this piece was their answer. Well, there were a number of teenagers in the audience, and I am in no doubt that they, along with the slightly older members of the audience like myself, found inspiration in her playing.
The concert finished with an encore, Chopin’s Prelude in B Minor Op. 28 No.6, a work reputedly played at the composer’s own funeral in La Madeleine, Paris, ten years after its composition. After all the hustle and bustle and flashy technical pyrotechnics of Liszt, the audience in the little church in Stift was hushed and playing of great sadness filled our souls. The heartache and sorrow found in Chopin’s music is as relevant, if not more so, then when written in 1839. I look forward to hearing more from this most talented exponent of the instrument. Thank you.
Click here to watch a video of Sofia playing Widmung, a Liszt transcription of Schumann songs based on a poem by Ruckert.
Click here for more further details about the Piano Festival Ootmarsum
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What wonderful and beautiful playing by dearest Sofia! Always love to listen to her!