There is no better way to unveil a new grand piano than to have an internationally renowned artist come and play it in concert.
That was the thinking at Brigham Young University’s school of music when it recently purchased a brand new Fazioli piano. “We wanted to do something special to feature the new piano,” said school of music director Kory Katseanes, who polled the piano faculty for potential pianists. “We asked for names and Marc-André Hamelin came highly recommended.”
Marc-André Hamelin (Photo: Fran Kaufman)
All it took was a phone call to get the Canadian pianist to come to Provo. Choosing what to play also proved an easy choice. “He has two or three pieces in his repertoire this time of year,” Katseanes said. One of the choices was the Tchaikovsky concerto. “It’s a great piece, but it’s done so much.” The other work was Brahms’ Second Concerto in B flat. “That’s a marvelous piece,” Katseanes said. “I don’t know if there is a better piano concerto, except maybe Beethoven’s Fourth or Fifth.”
Katseanes said he and the students in the philharmonic are looking forward to collaborating with Hamelin. “We’re excited, because we typically don’t play too often with a concert artist.” But the circumstances called for bringing in a well regarded pianist. “He’s done a lot of recordings and he has a cult following among pianists.”
A Fazioli concert grand, the kind that the school of music acquired, is an immense piano measuring 10 feet, two inches in length, over a foot longer than other grands. “There are only three or four in the whole country,” Katseanes said. “The craftsmanship is spectacular and its sonic qualities are like no other piano. The clarity from bottom to top is amazing. It’s revelatory to hear it.”
Even though a casual listener might not notice it, a Fazioli sounds markedly different than a Steinway or a Bösendorfer, much like a Stradivarius violin has a different sound than a Guarneri del Gesù or an Amati.
“They are all well built instruments, but the concept of sound is different,” Katseanes said. “[The Fazioli] is a powerful instrument and it projects more than a Steinway.”
In more ways than one, it’s the right instrument for Hamelin’s approach to the Brahms concerto. “He plays it very straightforward. It’s very muscular and articulate.”
Putting a program together around the Brahms Second Concerto isn’t as easy as one might think. “It’s so darn big, it takes up half the program.” In the end Katseanes decided to go with Bartók’s Dance Suite. “It’s a wonderful piece. It’s a mix of his Concerto for Orchestra and his ballet The Miraculous Mandarin.”
Opening the concert will be BYU student Matthew Webb’s Cornerwise, a Barlow Foundation commission. “The Barlow Foundation has become a prestigious commissioning endeavor, well known around the country,” Katseanes said. “A couple of years ago the foundation decided to add a student commission to which BYU composition students can apply.”
According to Katseanes, Cornerwise is an effective piece with rapidly changing sounds and colors. “It’s kaleidoscopic. It’s like changing the channels on your TV.”
- CONCERT DETAILS
- What: Marc-André Hamelin, piano, BYU Philharmonic, Kory Katseanes, conductor
- Venue: de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, Brigham Young University
- Time and Date: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13
- Tickets: $13 general, $12 seniors/BYU alumni, $8 students
- Phone: 801-422-4322
- Web: www.byuarts.com