Vacatello plays Bach, Chopin, Ravel and Shostakovich
And the concerto-heavy final round begins with J.S. Bach’s Italian Concerto. Bach spent a good deal of time copying out works of his Italian contemporaries, and here he translated the Italian concerto to double-manual harpsichord, one keyboard for solo sections and one for tutti. On her one keyboard, Vacatello nicely distinguishes between the two with a subtle variation of touch. She’s very clear; her ornaments are crisp, and she brings out the counterpoint in high relief. Her momentum is strong: she takes the second movement Andante, as designated, so though it sings beautifully, there’s no loitering here. In the Presto, she opens up the throttle. It doesn’t feel rushed, though; it just hums along powerfully. Her playing has an unfussy, no-nonsense quality that I’m finding very appealing.
Again in the Chopin Rondo, she drives forward, but again without sounding rushed–in fact, those graceful rubatos temper the quick tempos with an easy lilt I haven’t heard from her before. Combined with the definition of her touch, her fleet approach calls to mind the lighter-action, lighter-toned instruments Chopin played, and the brilliant style for which he was famous. At the outset of Gaspard, though, I’m wondering if she can let up; this seems like fast water for “Ondine”. But the music falls into place quickly, and Vacatello’s quick touch and coloristic effects are appropriately both seductive and unsettling. There’s more of the same in “Le Gibet”, with myriad textures and captivating pianissimos against the relentless tolling of the bell. She seems to have a taste for a certain impish and macabre character: first her preliminary-round Petrushka, and now this “Scarbo”, both of them fiendish and technically dazzling. The dynamic contours are very effective, and I suspect they’re even more so in the hall.
The D-flat Major Prelude and Fugue from Shostakovich’s Bach-inspired set gives a touch of symmetry to a program that started with Bach. A fast and furious finish, that fugue. The entire recital seems typical of her programs so far; I wonder how she’d sound in, say, the Hammerklavier Adagio or some simple slow movements from Mozart sonatas. But she finished tonight with energy and technique to burn, and I’d have to guess she’s in a strong position going into her concertos.
James McQuillen
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Are there problems with transmission?.. I don’t see any playing..now ten minutes past start time.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I enjoyed her ornaments in the first movement. They sounded fresh, even if the overall tone was a little harsh.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:41 pm
sl, try closing the browser window and opening a new one.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:42 pm
That is to say, the video client window. That’s worked for me several times.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:45 pm
It is frustrating. I am in Melbourne, Australia and still couldn’t get a connection after trying for several times.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Tried, and even closed down my computer and restarted.. all I get is Jade Simmons with the same repeated message that’s been there all afternoon..
no LIVE action.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:49 pm
I’m getting it OK from Mount Eliza near Melbourne.
Keep trying.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:49 pm
try to start from http://www.cliburn.tv/
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:50 pm
My video feed is working fine - though it’s a full one minute behind the KTCU audio broadcast……
Well - I wanted to love Vacatello, but that Bach has left me underwhelmed. It just didn’t seem rhythmically distinctive - or even clear - to me.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:51 pm
The Bach was a terrific opener. As we have all noted on occasion, this woman is a serious musician. The last three ornaments in the final bars were spectacular.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I had to leave the window up for a while (up to two minutes) for it to start transmitting the video and sound.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Sad, I am out of juice, cant’get on.. except for Jade’s pre-recorded message..
Second time I logged off and restarted.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Her Chopin is actually quite enjoyable. Great articulation and imagination.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
I absolutely loved her Chopin Rondo!
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
went to cliburn.tv It checked my Starlight installation and okayed it… but no screen for performances.
IN the prelims I had to call Texas for help and they gave me this direct link:
http://dev.cliburn.tv/client.aspx
and it did work for the duration right through semis and rehearsals
Now the above link isn’t giving me performance either, just Jade’s message.
Wonder if any other Californians are having the same problem
I canceled a piano student to watch tonight.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:59 pm
I’m on the same page as AGB regarding Vacatello’s Bach. The unique ornaments were nice and well executed and she played the first and third movements well. But the heart of the piece, the second movement, was boring in my opinion. And she played the left hand as if it were mere accompaniment (Vondracek was also guilty of this). Bach was a contrapuntal composer. In the second movement, the left hand is as important and at times more important than the right hand.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Gaspard will tell the tale. Think of the sheer hubris, or suicidal implust it takes to program this piece in a competition.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:03 pm
scarlatti - have you tried closing everything down, shutting down your computer and restart the whole thing? Sometimes that is the only way to fix problems with the browsers. Good luck.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:07 pm
In the very beginning, they had broadcasting problems, blank screen on the west coast, U.S. also.
I LIKED the Chopin Rondo a lot and this opening of the Gaspard was one of the most effectively atmospheric I’ve heard played live.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Mariangelo’s performance of the Chopin Rondo was delightful. I don’t think I have ever heard this piece before and I can’t think why because it is so nice. Parts of it reminded me of Krakowiak and the Variations on “La ci darem la mano”. She really played it with a charming Chopinesque style.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Go to http://www.ktcu.tcu.edu and you’ll get a good radio transmission. I gave up on the tv after many tries.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:12 pm
I meant “Mariangela” !!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:14 pm
“Gaspard” isn’t enough ??? …she has to add on Shostalovitch P&F in D-flat !!!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:17 pm
The Chopin was very, very elegant - she made it sound rather easy to play!
Ravel - well, I confess as a mere punter that Gaspard isn’t something I “enjoy” hearing. It’s a tad too much “inside baseball” for me, a pianist’s piece for other pianists. That said, she has me rapt in the first two movements.
AGB
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Everything seems larger than life throught this audio hookup. Don’t know if we can hear a true pianissimo. When you think how elusive the right ambiance for this piece is, it’s a wonder that anyone can find it. As many times as it has been recorded, there are only a handful of truly great performances, (Gieseking, Ashkenazy (twice), and Pologrelich). I think she found her stride about halfway through Ondine. Le Gibet and Scarbo (in progress) finds her in form. But through my machine, some of it does sound harsh. Don’t know if this is true for the concert hall.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:19 pm
…she is owning the scarbo…nice articulation and attention to detail. i also liked the chopin rondo. bach was very good. a very difficult piece to open up with.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Wow, the Scarbo is so full of energy, and the fortes are explosive, almost frightening!
Can the previous blog post (also about the Vacatello recital) and this one be consolidated? There seem to be two separate discussions going on, and it would be more convenient if they were combined, since the two are on the same topic.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Au, maybe turn your speakers down?
i heard appropriate pianissimos…
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:21 pm
With the “Gaspards” coming up, this IS the measure …and, I think, a very HIGH one !!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:23 pm
aggresive and lack of poetry, that’s all i can say.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Leaving the pianissimos aside, this was a remarkable performance. Anyone who has glanced at this score knows what she just did.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:23 pm
BRAVA, Mariangela !!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:25 pm
I’m listening on a laptop with Bose speakers and the sound is almost CD quality. The pianissimos as well as the double forte’s sound quite fine to me.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Her Gaspard was very poetic - a wonderful performance!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Not familiar with the Shostakovich, but I’m having a lot of fun listening to the fugue! Method in madness for sure!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Too much in this blog about infrastructure.
Mariangela’s Ravel was superb!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I thought that was an absolutely wonderful performance.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:30 pm
@Sharon: I agree - I really liked the Shosty…
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I have to echo gnwelch after that performance, “BRAVA, Mariangela!!” That Shostakovich was incredible!!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:31 pm
@Au:
In the score, it’s marked “FF marcato al fine.”
It’s MEANT to be played like that!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:31 pm
A FANTASTIC Shostakovitch !! …just try to learn it (..those of you who think otherwise) and you’ll know what I mean !! This lady has thrown down the gauntlet !!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I have advised my students to watch this lady ….”for her arms”. She is a TEXT-BOOK on how to play the keyboard.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Do your homework on the Shostakovitch D-flat …”banging out” is hardly an adjective to describe it’s performance.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:37 pm
I was a big fan of Vacatello going into the finals, but that Shostakovich was not good at all. The Prelude was rushed and without any of the composer’s sarcasm; and the Fugue wasn’t nearly up to tempo and shapeless. The Bach and Ravel had some problems as well. I just don’t understand the appeal of the Chopin Rondo — it’s such a fluffy piece to play in the finals.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Bravo Mariangela- Her playing is utterly divine and spectacularly musical. Yes the last 3 ornaments in triplets in the final RH ascending run WERE wonderful in the Bach. All the ornaments were nice. Brillantly programmed recital. This was the BOMB. The Chopin was so brilliantly delightful the sparklig RH figurations cast off with total ease and charm. The Ravel was OUT THERE fantastic. Ending with the Shostakovich was a completely fulfilling journey From Baroque, early Romantic, Impressionism to Shostakovich. Just loved this recital.
I still want to wait for all the final recitals and concertos but if all play somewhere as I have experienced I’m thinking-
Bozhanov- Gold
Vacatello-Silver
Wu- Bronze
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:42 pm
True, Richter and Ashkenazy DO play the fugue faster …yet, is this the “Olympics” ???
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:45 pm
It’s not the Olympics, but she didn’t play the piece the composer wrote and at least Richter did. (I can’t speak for Askenazy as I haven’t heard him play it.) Keith Jarrett has an excellent recording as well. Also the Prelude was way too fast and rushed. It sounded out of breath — not Allegretto.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:52 pm
Is this video of the final round archived as the semifinals are?
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Keith Jarrett ??? …get SERIOUS !!! Basta, basta (as Mariangela would say) …we’ll see.
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:56 pm
@gnwelch: Keith Jarrett’s Shostakovich recording is
worth listening to!
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:06 pm
@Varda …thank you, I WILL give it consideration. It’s just that I thought his Bach WTC super-antiseptic. Is his Shostakovitch more convincing ?? ..is this time of super-editing ??
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:08 pm
I agree. Jarrett’s recording was obviously a labor of love. Very respectable, although my preference would be Ashkenazy and Nikolayevna.
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Keith Jarrett’s Shostakovich recording IS worth listening to!!!
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Nikolayevna !!! ….I’ve tried (in vain) to attain a recording of her’s !!! It would be the definitive version !!!
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Nonetheless, Jarrett’s was far closer to Shostakovich than Vacatello. And understand that I was very excited when she made the finals, but I had higher expectations for her. My Russian teacher (who studied with Yakov Flier at Moscow Conservatory) will have a cow when she hears that when she comes over this weekend. It was WAY off the mark.
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Sorry Brad …can’t top you. I have no former Russian-teachers coming over this weekend.
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Mi piace La Vacatella!
This was a great performance, with Mariangela’s imprimatur.. She is not supposed to be Jarrett, Richter or Argerich. SHe delivered beautiful music with her own concepts, and it worked extremely well for me. I am loving her wild side!
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Funny you should say that, Anne !!! I compare her “arms” to Argerich’s !!
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Funny someone mentioned the Argerich thing — I thought the same thing when she played in the prelims. She has a great sound and flashes of Argerich’s brilliance, but there wasn’t a lot of it tonight. I’d like to hear her outside of the competition setting — I’d bet she’d play much better.
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I had to listen archives, since I missed the live…
Bach - seems empty to me. I thought she had a lot to say…I am starting to get disappointed….
3rd mvt seems she is still practicing on stage….good fingers though…one hair almost rushing…makes me feel uncomfortable…Good piano, but for a very, very, veery short time
Oops, climax in Ondine - too vertical, too harsh and too unemotional….I mean she is good, but I don’t feel the endless lines….
Shostakovich - she didnt orchestrate the piece…at all…too bad….I cant imagine Shosty writing it without hearing orchestra in his head…
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:01 pm
@gnwelch: Its Nikolaeva
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Ok, like, what was she trying to say in the Shosty’s fugue? Anyone?
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:26 pm
When these performers are taught to play for halls, they are taught that a pianissimo must reach the back of the hall (and up, to the jurors at least). It’s not a living room one.
Yet we expect to hear one meant for the microphone, the sound for which would have to be so low, the audience would never hear it…
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:55 pm
I’m listening to Mariangela late at night because I didn’t get a chance to hear her live. The Chopin Rondo is absolutely lovely!
June 4th, 2009 at 12:14 am
I agree that physically she has great keyboard technique. But that’s all here, folks. La poverina needs refinement. I have the Nicolaeva recordings and they are wonderful. It is like the spirit of Shostakovich himself is playing through Nikolaeva.
@Brad, my teacher studied with Vera Gornostaeva at the Moscow Conservatory. I guess I’m more biased toward the Heinrich Neuhaus “line,” rather than the Igumnov “line.”
June 4th, 2009 at 12:22 am
Marcus, I will have to agree with you, as much as I loved her Haydn in the first round…
June 4th, 2009 at 3:54 am
I too had bad problems with the transmission, especially in the second half of the recital. The pictures were way behind the sound, but at least I could hear it all. Very fine recital, but I sensed the driving pressure. I especially liked the Chopin - if she would only apply that light, ringing brilliance more often in other works!
The Shostakovich P+F is a hilarious composition, totally wild, and, believe me, a XXXXX to play. What I liked about her performance of it was how she brought the elements of the prelude so clearly when they reappear in the fugue. It was never muddy or chaotic. As for historical recordings of this, Richter and Nikolaeva are the ones to hear.
I would love to hear Vacatello in a more relaxed (i.e. non-competition) setting. What I remember best, in spite of all the formidable renditions of the warhorses, is how beautifully she played the Schumann Quintet with the Takacs. And we still have the concerti to hear and enjoy. Oh, I really, really hope she doesn’t do that glissando in the 3rd movement of Beethoven. Playing it as a scale is no less clean or even in her hands, and so much more authentic.
June 4th, 2009 at 3:54 am
I too had bad problems with the transmission, especially in the second half of the recital. The pictures were way behind the sound, but at least I could hear it all. Very fine recital, but I sensed the driving pressure. I especially liked the Chopin - if she would only apply that light, ringing brilliance more often in other works!
The Shostakovich P+F is a hilarious composition, totally wild, and, believe me, a XXXXX to play. What I liked about her performance of it was how she brought the elements of the prelude so clearly when they reappear in the fugue. It was never muddy or chaotic. As for historical recordings of this, Richter and Nikolaeva are the ones to hear.
I would love to hear Vacatello in a more relaxed (i.e. non-competition) setting. What I remember best, in spite of all the formidable renditions of the warhorses, is how beautifully she played the Schumann Quintet with the Takacs. And we still have the concerti to hear and enjoy. Oh, I really, really hope she doesn’t do that glissando in the 3rd movement of Beethoven. Playing it as a scale is no less clean or even in her hands, and so much more authentic.
June 4th, 2009 at 7:02 am
@Maestra, was perplexed as well by the glissando approach in the third movement, Beethoven 4. And Conlon had her go over and and over in rehearsal leading to downbeat . ..
Listened to final in archive.
Have fonder memories of Vacatello’s exquisite Haydn. But of all three performing, I preferred V’s readings–because of color, stylistic contrasts between pieces. She does have personality and makes a musical statement, no matter. I don’t have the feeling of sameness of approach to everything as with the others performing last night.
June 4th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
I had been on the fence about Mariangela and I must say that nothing about yesterday’s performance engaged me even as much as some of her previous performances in the competition.
Imagine the cumulative demands and personal pressure this huge event must take on even the best prepared contestants!