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RECITAL REVIEW
A Stravinsky/Debussy Natural
October 8, 1999
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By James Carmichael
Before Friday evening at The Old First Church, I had heard Mathew Laurence Edwards only on tape. In person, his dedication and preparation were plentifully apparent. He has natural keyboard talents, though they seemed more suited to his Stravinsky and Debussy than to his Bach and Mozart.
Stravinsky's Sonata (1924) stems from the same "neoclassical" period as his Serenade, though its motoric texture could almost be called "neo-baroque." Edwards played it with consummate skill, with total independence of articulation between the hands in the first movement, long lines in the second, and a keyboard touch that was propulsive but expressive in the third. That the trills in the second (Adagietto) movement, like those in the Bach Sarabande, were dynamically disproportionate to the musical line didn't spoil the pleasure of hearing a piece so rarely heard played this
well.
Edwards opened his program with the Bach Fourth Partita, always confident of his musical gesture but unable to adapt to the reverberant acoustic of the hall. The brilliant runs of the Ouverture were blurred, the Aria was just too big to give the contrast the suite needed for balance. The Allemande and Courante sounded wonderfully free, almost improvisatory. The
Mozart A Minor Rondo, K. 511, also suffered from blurring, robbing the piece's chromaticism of some of its impact. Again Edwards' musical freedom served the piece well, excepting his liberties with Mozart's articulations and his prefatory remarks which added nothing.
With Debussy's Twelve Etudes, Edwards was in his element, dextrously carving out sonorities. He seemed to have entered a performer's trance where the pieces emerged from the piano as if evoked. Etudes Six through Nine, ("Eight Fingers," "Chromatic Steps," "Ornaments" and "Repeated Notes") were a magical blend of over-arching shape, fleetness and rhythmical
propulsion. Edwards met my anticipations.
(James Carmichael, pianist, lives and teaches in the East Bay.)
©1999 James Carmichael, all rights reserved
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