Lewin described Arvo Pärt’s sleek Für Alina as a prayer. In the calm and airy view, held brake and meticulously crafted intervals produced reverberations that resembled cutting of bells, but we hear only two notes played at any one period, in unison, with a lower octave pedal point held throughout. The process proceeds to a small note followed by a long note, followed by two little notes and a longer, and finally a lengthy note followed by a lengthy note. To the profoundly spiritual Pärt, the number seven represents God, beauty, as it took seven times to create the globe. Für Alina may be considered to be Genesis ‘ minimalistic picture. In previous centuries, important signatures held religious significance, and B small represented persistence, or calmly awaiting one’s destiny while submitting to holy dispensation. Lewin charmed us with superb craftsmanship and exquisite line-design.
While Pärt lived in Estonia, the Russian regime banned his Credo due to its obvious spiritual context. In the wake of the fall of the Soviet regime, his Berliner Messe ( Berlin Mass ) was commissioned in the west in 1990. The BSO may do his Tabula Rasa in 2025, alongside Mozart’s Requiem.
In Charles Griffes ‘ 1915 Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan ( the first emperor of the Chinese Yuan Dynasty ), Lewin next transformed us from the ethereal to the corporeal. Its pretty amazing far-east taste starts with wandering LH small records, which are eventually broken up by chords in the RH, before developing into sweeping arpeggios. Lewin evoked a flowing creek with smooth arpeggios, his stating of the unique sound was beautiful. Greffes based this one on a pleasurable Coleridge song, which he frequently drew inspiration from. The BSO premiered the bit immediately praises two years before Griffes passed away. Buconi suggested that Griffes arrange the Enjoyment Dome. As much as we relished Lewin’s take, it ca n’t match the orchestral colors produced by woodwinds, harps and strings.
Born in New York, Griffes moved to Berlin to study audio, where he absorbed European idealism, French impressionist and Russian artists, and is said to be the earliest American artistic artist. He died at 35 in the Spanish flu epidemic. Lewin has recorded all of Griffes’s piano music on two CDs.
After our descent from Pärt’s heaven to Griffes’s earth, the Liszt Sonata B Minor took us further down to the edge of hell. The door to the abyss opens slowly in what has to be the most ominous opening of any major piano piece when two low staccato notes knock. In 1853, Liszt dedicated the sonata to Robert Schumann. The sonata introduced many novel concepts, and it took a while for the public to embrace the composition. There are numerous theories about where its inspiration came from, some claiming to have included numerology, while others imagining Trinitarian references. It proved the perfect showcase of Lewin’s lightning speed, accuracy of octaves and vast dynamic range. Used to playing in large venues, he flooded the small hall with tremendous fortissimos. As is the custom nowadays, Lewin’s staccatos were clipped and abrupt, making dramatic exclamation marks, and the tempos fairly strict, avoiding fuzzy sentimentality. For a contrasting performance of what was in vogue in an earlier era, consider Cortot’s 1926 rendition HERE.
Gian Carlo Menotti’s 1953 Ricercare and Toccata were based on his first opera, The Old Maid and the Thief, in English. In two movements, the first is lyrical and contrapuntal, and the second humorous with a steady 16th-note-perpetual-motion motif. Here again, Lewin demonstrated his gift for lightning-quick fingerwork.
Next Lewin played three Debussy Preludes: Bruyères ( Heather ) has a lovely melody, reminiscent of the” Girl with the Flaxen Hair”, Général Lavine – eccentric is a cakewalk. Feux d’artifice, the final and technically most challenging of the Preludes, depicts Paris Fireworks over the Seine. Lewin amazed us with his genius by flying his fingers over the keyboard and creating tremolos, arpeggios, and even double glissandos in aural pyrotechnics that gradually dissolved into ashes that drew into the night sky. He undoubtedly started a fire beneath the listeners ‘ seats.
Moritz Moszkowski was a German-Polish composer who lived in Berlin. His Caprice Espagnol began with many repeated notes, reminiscent of the Scarlatti K141, and turned into a lighthearted musical sponge cake, very fast and virtuosic, with a flirtatious center filling, it closed the concert deliciously.
A number of local pianists in attendance included Sergey Schepkin, Yukiko Sekino and Victor Rosenbaum. Lewin’s encore was the deeply moving Bach-Vivaldi Sicilienne ( from the concerto in D Minor ), which received a standing ovation from the appreciative audience. He encored again with Venezuelan Evencio Castellanos’s Mañanita Caraqueña ( early morning in Caracas ), sunny smiles became general.