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Bach: Toccata in C Minor, French Suite No. 5, Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, Overture within the French Type, Italian Concerto. Angela Hewitt, piano. Introduced by Toronto Summer season Music. Koerner Corridor, July 25, 2023.
Packed home, stage seats, standing ovation, autograph session within the foyer. There should have been a headliner in Koerner Corridor Tuesday night time, and certainly Angela Hewitt was the attraction offered by Toronto Summer season Music. Thirty-eight years (and plenty of recordings) after successful the 1985 Worldwide Bach Piano Competitors in Toronto, the UK-based Canadian has not misplaced her fierce dedication to the nice J.S. and the superb artwork of constructing his music sound slightly good on a contemporary grand.
It was a program of her favourites, as she informed the gang, which turned out to be a sequence of hits. Within the Toccata in C Minor BWV 911 the pianist aptly contrasted improvisatory Adagio passages with clocklike counterpoint. There was ad-lib aptitude additionally within the opening part of the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, its scurrying melodic line slowing and accelerating to dramatic impact.
We are likely to equate Bach with fingers however Hewitt confirmed equal mastery of the pedal, including color to the fugue with no subtraction of readability. The bass notes emulated the thunder of an organ within the remaining pages. This nice work was suited to the pianist’s extroverted fashion and represented the spotlight of the night time.
One other outgoing opus was the Italian Concerto, sharply accented within the first motion and jubilant within the finale. Each actions benefited from hairpin dynamics. The melancholy line of the Andante had a flutelike high quality as realized on a vibrant new Fazioli piano. Hewitt is a giant fan of this Italian model.
Additionally heard had been the French Suite No. 5 and Overture within the French Type, works that included between them a minimum of a dozen courtly dance actions, extra if you happen to depend the variations. In fact there have been issues to savour. Sarabandes, taken slowly and freely, had been beautiful. The Loure had an sudden decoration. However total I’d have most well-liked a combined recital that positioned Bach alongside his contemporaries and successors and given us a wider view of Hewitt as an artist.
There was an encore, an association of Sheep Could Safely Graze, safely performed. As at all times, the pianist comported herself regally on stage, with an 88-key smile. The one false word, so to talk, was a contact of robust language. Addressing the viewers is more and more widespread. There’s something to be stated for not saying something.
An attention-grabbing footnote: All 50 CDs out there within the foyer discovered patrons. The shiny disc shouldn’t be executed but. No less than not amongst listeners of a sure age.
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Arthur Kaptainis has been the classical music critic of the Montreal Gazette since 1986 and wrote for the Nationwide Put up 2010-2016. His articles have appeared in Classical Voice North America and La Scena Musicale in addition to Ludwig Van. Arthur holds an MA in musicology from the College of Toronto.
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