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Michele Campanella: Reviving the romantic works of Chopin and Liszt
Michele Campanella: (Italian Institute of Culture)In the first week of 2015, Jakarta was entertained by a solo piano recital by Italian maestro Michele Campanella
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Michele Campanella: (Italian Institute of Culture) (Italian Institute of Culture)
Michele Campanella: (Italian Institute of Culture)
In the first week of 2015, Jakarta was entertained by a solo piano recital by Italian maestro Michele Campanella.
The modest pianist began his recital with 'Ballade No. 3 in As Major', composed by Frederic Chopin. The main melody in the initial phase flowed beautifully, with controlled volume and power and deep melancholy.
Following was 'Ballade As Major', played by Campanella with fresh harmonizing contrasts that turned from soft to energetic tones balanced by melodies to create a brisk, romantic dialogue.
'Ballade No. 1 in G minor' and 'Three Brilliant Waltzes of Opus 34' were also presented as pieces requiring high degrees of proficiency.
The ballades are dissimilar in character and strength of sound harmony.
'Ballade No. 1 in G Minor' was intensely played. The soft tones and lyrical melodies blended with an arpeggio accord on the left hand that had explosive, occasionally stormy (tempestuoso) sounds, flowing alternately and progressing energetically.
The performance imparted warmth while retaining Chopin's romanticism.
Then, the pieces known as 'Three Brilliant Waltzes' were rendered delicately, reflecting the surprises in tempo and dynamism of Chopin's works. It's not an easy technical maneuver to produce such a series of notes in a fast tempo.
Campanella's presentation of 'Waltz in As Major' was also captivating, as the pianist fingers streamed along the upper register. The same was true of his handling of the other two waltzes, 'A Minor' and 'F Major'.
Three-fourths beats were flowing gracefully through chromatic and shifting tones with clear articulation, making Chopin's waltzes enchanting.
In the hands of Campanella, the ballades and three waltzes were performed with unfailing virtuosity in a touching way.
The second part of Campanella's recital highlighted the works of Franz Liszt, also one of the great Romantic composers and pianists. Liszt frequently created piano compositions by developing pieces that required skill and virtuosity on the piano to perform, along with harmonization in an experimental and radical style.
The harmonization might have been unusual at the time but it made him an innovative composer and extreme reformer in accord, interval and octave elements compared with his predecessors.
Campanella's repertoire also included the 'Mephisto Waltz No. 1 and 2', the 'Ballad in B Minor' and 'Valse dal Faust di Gounod', which have often been presented at world piano festivals and international competitions.
The works of Liszt were played with advanced and energetic techniques, with quick-tempo octaves, moving from the upper to lower register with range intervals that were now and again skipped, coupled with left-hand tones to produce the sound of gusting winds.
The fast-moving melodies expressed the atmosphere and strong characteristics of Liszt's creations, with pronounced accord beats accentuating folk music rhythms through the masterful performance of Campanella.
Campanella is a world-class pianist with over 40 years' experience in the international musical scene. He has made solo appearances with the symphonies of Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Santa Cecilia Rome alongside famous conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta and Charles Mackerras.
It was a fascinating, energetic and romantic concert of high virtuosity, given by maestro Campanella at the Usmar Ismail Film Center's auditorium, which was packed by a large audience who offered a thundering ovation that night.
