Video Review
HJ Lim - Rachmaninoff
Etude-Tableau N.5 op.39, live 2009
HJ plays Rachmaninoff Op. 39, #5
It is seriously difficult to describe how great is this recital excerpt. Having listened to/watched this video many times, I experience it as one of the most powerful, poetic, passionate, and penetrating, if petite, piano performances I have ever had the privilege to perceive or ponder. The all-too-common criticism of Asian virtuosi, along the axes of technical mastery versus expressivity, appear vapid and meaningless regarding HJ Lim, in the face of her unique yet complete integration of both. There is nothing cold about this virtuosity. There is nothing contrived in this expressivity. Our current era is dominated, if not flooded, by crisp, clean, clear, and yet mostly homogenized stage virtuosity. HJ Lim dives fearlessly into the composer's emotions, bringing luminosity to even the deepest and darkest of abysses. All thirsts of Spirit and Soul are here slayed. I openly welcome and savor this artistry. Those who, no doubt, will criticize the rapid tempo, heavy pedaling (this is Rach music!) or apparent narrow range of tone color, are missing a splendiferous forest for the sake of a few trees. The most daring creative element driving this interpretive revolution is HJ's uninhibited use of acceleration, which she balances with magnified cadence and climax emphases. These jaw-dropping, ear-opening, super-energetic accelerandi breathtakingly electrify Rachmaninoff's powerfully passionate 'marcato' thematic statements. Urgent desire drives each unfolding musical phrase and emotional phase. A heady conquest, heavy and double-edged, wrings away naked, sweet-bitter tears. Melancholy, lilting, is openly savored, without guilt or shame... HJ is a genius at slowing and holding mounting emotional tension, and at rigging climatic statements to then explode in a spontaneous rush. Over the four-and-a-half minutes of this 'Etude Tableaux', these extreme expressive means synergize to deliver a complete experience of Rachmaninoff's devastating vision, as each successive 'a tempo' main theme restatement arrives, resplendent with new and evolving musical and emotional meaning. In short, HJ's radical phrase-shaping is the x-factor which facilitates the transformation of this work from a great 'Study-Picture' into a masterpiece of smoldering passion.
HJ Lim - Rachmaninoff
Etude-Tableau N.5 op.39, live 2009
HJ plays Rachmaninoff Op. 39, #5
It is seriously difficult to describe how great is this recital excerpt. Having listened to/watched this video many times, I experience it as one of the most powerful, poetic, passionate, and penetrating, if petite, piano performances I have ever had the privilege to perceive or ponder. The all-too-common criticism of Asian virtuosi, along the axes of technical mastery versus expressivity, appear vapid and meaningless regarding HJ Lim, in the face of her unique yet complete integration of both. There is nothing cold about this virtuosity. There is nothing contrived in this expressivity. Our current era is dominated, if not flooded, by crisp, clean, clear, and yet mostly homogenized stage virtuosity. HJ Lim dives fearlessly into the composer's emotions, bringing luminosity to even the deepest and darkest of abysses. All thirsts of Spirit and Soul are here slayed. I openly welcome and savor this artistry. Those who, no doubt, will criticize the rapid tempo, heavy pedaling (this is Rach music!) or apparent narrow range of tone color, are missing a splendiferous forest for the sake of a few trees. The most daring creative element driving this interpretive revolution is HJ's uninhibited use of acceleration, which she balances with magnified cadence and climax emphases. These jaw-dropping, ear-opening, super-energetic accelerandi breathtakingly electrify Rachmaninoff's powerfully passionate 'marcato' thematic statements. Urgent desire drives each unfolding musical phrase and emotional phase. A heady conquest, heavy and double-edged, wrings away naked, sweet-bitter tears. Melancholy, lilting, is openly savored, without guilt or shame... HJ is a genius at slowing and holding mounting emotional tension, and at rigging climatic statements to then explode in a spontaneous rush. Over the four-and-a-half minutes of this 'Etude Tableaux', these extreme expressive means synergize to deliver a complete experience of Rachmaninoff's devastating vision, as each successive 'a tempo' main theme restatement arrives, resplendent with new and evolving musical and emotional meaning. In short, HJ's radical phrase-shaping is the x-factor which facilitates the transformation of this work from a great 'Study-Picture' into a masterpiece of smoldering passion.
Comments
Post a Comment