Solo recitals by renown artists - once commonplace in Columbus - have fallen by the wayside in recent seasons.
Lovers of the genre no doubt are grateful to Chamber Music Columbus this weekend for programming a performance by pianist John O'Conor, making only his second appearance here in almost 20 years. The Irish artist played with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in 1992.
First known internationally for his interpretations of the music of Beethoven, O'Conor now is asked to perform works other than those by the big "B," who was one of four composers featured on the Southern Theatre program last night. Still, all the selections dated from that era - the early 19th century - giving the audience an opportunity to appreciate a range of work within a particular, and, of course, particularly rich period.
Three tuneful nocturnes by John Field opened. O'Conor found an ideally lyrical approach to these treble-dominated, straightforward pieces that seem stamped with a deceptive simplicity.
The name Carl Czerny, creator of numerous keyboard "exercises," does indeed strike terror in the hearts of piano students, as O'Conor noted. But the set of theme and variations known as La Ricordanza became a delight via O'Conor's virtuosic performance last night.
The set of Six Bagatelles, Op. 126, of Beethoven might lack the academic rigor of many of his other works, including the piano sonatas, yet they are hardly "trifles," as the composer is said to have described them. O'Conor dispatched them at once artfully and playfully.
The concert's chief disappointments came in finale, the Sonata in C Minor of Franz Schubert. Although the first movement encompassed exciting music-making, the reading became by turns pedantic and marred by "technical difficulties."
O'Conor treated the enthusiastic audience to several encores, including nocturnes by Chopin and - a surprise bonus - Scriabin.
