By Mike Winter

Amy J. Yang (photo: Altre Media)

Amy J. Yang of the United States opened the last day with a program built around dance: Bach’s French Overture in B minor, and Schumann’s “Davidsbundler” Dances.  If you like your Bach on the speedy side, you will enjoy her interpretation.  I prefer it a bit slower: the notes of the great piece are each so significant I like a little time for the ear to register them.  It’s easy to turn Bach into finger music, and the great fugue that follows the stately French Overture, which she infused with great stature, raced along.  A slower tempo would also help her articulate the ornaments better, which tended to be blurry throughout the work.  I also wished she had been consistent with repeats; the shorter bourees could have used them, but maybe she was concerned about program length.   Yang played her heart out in the Schumann; you can tell she feels deeply about this music.  She can play with great tenderness, but her inclination seems to lean toward the forceful side of interpretation.

Kyu Yeon Kim (photo: Altre Media)

Kyu Yeon Kim played her Haydn Sonata in C (the popular one) with great variety, but her Schumann “Kreisleriana” was routine, and both pieces suffered from an agressive tone that suited her much better for three Etudes by Bartok, Op. 18.  These are interesting pieces that showed her very solid technique; perhaps she or other pianists will explore Bartok etudes further.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 at 12:16 am and is filed under Screening Recitals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.