Music review: Paul Lewis charms in first of four Schubert piano sonata concerts with Vancouver Recital Society
Standing O, as British pianist launches concert series with a carefully considered performance that moves from youthful playfulness to fatalistic angst
Paul Lewis. Photo by Kaupo Kikkas
Paul Lewis Plays Schubert continues at the Vancouver Playhouse on May 13, 15, and 17 at 7:30 pm
SOME PERFORMERS STEP onto a stage and confidently seize the attention of a room. Paul Lewis does the opposite, coaxing an audience to follow what’s captured his attention. And right now what’s on his mind is Franz Schubert.
On Saturday, Lewis dove headlong into the first in his Vancouver Recital Society four-concert series of 12 of Schubert’s piano sonatas, with a thoughtful performance of three works that stretched across the arc of the composer’s life: Piano Sonatas No. 7 in E-flat major, D. 568; No. 14 in A minor, D. 784; and No. 17 in D major, D. 850.
The first, written when Schubert was just 20, is full of youthful playfulness and innocence, which Lewis conveyed with a restrained, gentlemanly touch. From the playful “Allegro moderato” movement through the languid “Andante molto”, congenial “Menuetto. Allegretto”, and impish “Allegro moderato”, he gilded with attentive phrasing and teasing rubatos, never spilling over into sentimentalism, and keeping things crisp and clear—never allowing the pedal to add too much blur.
Sweetness and light gave way to something much darker in Sonata No. 14 in A minor—a work composed in the wake of the then-25-year-old composer’s syphilis diagnosis (he would live just another 6 years). The piece is shrouded in a fatalistic angst, with an opening “Allegro giusto” movement that you could swear goes through all five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Lewis steered the audience through its tumult of emotions with focused intensity and deliberation.
The “Andante” movement had a shell-shocked feel, Lewis conveying a sense of dissociation between the left and right hands at times, with halting pauses between figures that only added to this sense of discombobulation. A dazzling third movement, “Allegro vivace”, with its scrambling climbing triplets leading into an uneasy waltz, saw Lewis shift to less restrained emotion, driving relentlessly towards the final hammer strikes of its four A-minor chords.
He continued unbridling the emotions with the last sonata of the evening, Sonata No. 17 in D major, composed in late 1825, a period during which Schubert was in relatively good health, his illness having reached its latent phase, and enjoying an alpine holiday. Lewis filled the “Allegro vivace” with contrasting, smooth legatos and pointed staccatos, galloping with a sense of abandon toward the contemplative “Con moto”. This, he lent a sense of contentment, adding a beautifully considered and deliberate ritardando toward its conclusion.
A confident and emphatic “Scherzo. Allegro vivace” was full of dance, with Lewis adding little breaths and fermatas, as well as tonal and dynamic contrasts, giving meaning and weight to particular notes or rhythms. The final “Rondo. Allegro moderato” movement was full of self-assurance, Lewis imbuing it with a crisp, self-satisfied air and wrapping up its last few notes with a tender kiss of a chord.
Rewarded with a standing ovation, Lewis returned with an encore, and addressed the audience for the first time to explain that he had “only brought Schubert”—and chose, for an encore, the slow movement of Piano Sonata No. 13 in A major, D. 664, which he’ll perform tonight. It was a sweet and gentle closing to a sweet and gentle performance.
Related Articles
