San Francisco Classical Voice

William Corbett-Jones

What was so refreshing about William Corbett-Jones' recital Sunday afternoon at Old First Church in San Francisco was its choice of repertory. Instead of a program heavily weighted to major works of the high Romantic period, there was a more even chronological distribution. In the first half were works by J. S. Bach, Scarlatti, Mozart, and Beethoven. Schumann, Chopin, and the contemporary composer Roger Nixon comprised the second half. The result was a richly mixed, interesting, and rewarding program that included some worthy works often left out of the limelight

Corbett-Jones' playing is marked by a comfortable lyricism together with an imperturbable sense of the long line. Within that context certain passages stand out, demonstrating a mix of musical insight and the technique to support it. In between are fallow areas, where either insight subsides or technique fails. In the more difficult works, such as Beethoven's Thirty-Two Variations on a Theme in C Minor and the Revolutionary Etude by Chopin, instead of choosing slightly slower tempos in which the infrastructure of the work could emerge with greater clarity, he chose more adventuresome tempos. As a result, details were out of focus, which in turn caused entire works to become blurry. Other works, such as the Schumann Novelette No. 1 in F Major, benefited from well-chosen tempos that shone a clarifying light into the often-rich polyphonic textures of the work.

The program began with the Prelude and Fugue in E-Flat Minor from Book I of Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier. The Prelude sounded more limpid than soul searching, but the Fugue's more personal statement made it more satisfying.

The Bach was paired with a well-chosen group of four Scarlatti sonatas. In the first (D Major, Kirkpatrick 430), Corbett-Jones found and stuck with a clear and elegant pulsation that was enhanced by pleasing orchestration. In the second (D Minor, K. 18), the occasionally desultory harmonic modulations became confused. And the textures of the work in general were swallowed up in the church's all-embracing resonance. At times his hands weren't together. The last two sonatas (C-Sharp Minor, K. 247; E Major, K. 161) found the pianist at his best. The penultimate one was poetically mannered and contemplative. The final one featured a gracefully handled alternation between slower and faster tempos.

Two sets of variations followed, allowing for some interesting contrasts. The first, by Mozart, on a theme by Gluck, is not a characteristic work by him. It seemed less about discovering new worlds in the familiar theme by Gluck and more about compositional showmanship. Sometimes, as in the fourth and fifth variations, there are interesting places. Corbett-Jones' tempos were brisk, and finger work sometimes lagged behind intent.

In contrast, Beethoven's Variations on an original theme in C minor, is an ineluctable progression through time. Its variations are less instances of the theme than they are archetypes of different dramatic moods and technical ways of slicing through the underlying passacaglia-like harmonic bass. Sometimes Corbett-Jones seemed the victim of this inevitability, hurtling on into the next variation without being able to stop long enough to find the new mood and character.

Roger Nixon's Six Preludes, dedicated to the performer by the composer (who was in the audience), was manic in its devotion to certain sliding, rapidly shifting harmonic patterns. This is relieved by a strong outpouring of melodic and rhythmic motives. There is in it a bit of Scriabin, perhaps early Bartok, but mostly Nixon finds an original idiom. Everything works best in the fine third prelude, Quasi Recitativo, which is both poignant and evocative.

There were two encores, the first probably by Mendelssohn, the other by Chopin. The former gave us the finest playing of the afternoon: totally under control, affecting, clear in its musical understanding and intent, successful in its use of piano sonorities.

In general, though there were frequent uneven patches, when his insight and technique were brought into focus, Corbett-Jones' playing ultimately won out.

(Joseph Bloom is a concert pianist and teacher, member of the San Domenico School music faculty, formerly on the Rutgers University and Bennington College faculties, and former WXQR classical radio host.)

©2000 Joseph Bloom, all rights reserved