Pianist Lewis Plays CFA with Unhesitating Confidence

Author: Richard Lawless

To its own credit, Middlebury College has always done a remarkable job of attracting talented musicians for its Performing Arts Series.
This time, the College's Arts Series organizers have outdone themselves with internationally acclaimed pianist Paul Lewis, who performed at the Center for the Arts Concert Hall on Friday evening.
There was not an empty seat in the house as Lewis strolled out to the piano, exquisitely dressed in a black tuxedo with long coattails.
Seconds after seating himself at the piano, Lewis launched into his first piece of the night, Haydn's "Variations in F minor," without the least bit of hesitation -- quite an unusual occurrence, as most artists take a moment or two to prepare themselves for their performance.
Yet Lewis's exterior confidence is part of his allure. His treatment of Haydn's highly melodic and relatively reserved dynamics was nothing short of elegant.
As his right hand flittered over the keys with remarkable agility, his left floated gracefully in the air before being placed gently, yet assuredly, down on the keyboard.
His playing became emotive when the piece escalated in dynamics. At moments, his head shook with the passion flowing through his body. The piece alternated between energetic, sunny passages and melancholy minor key movements, all of which were held together by a delicate sweetness.
The second piece of the evening was Jan·ek's "In the Mists." A more contemporary selection than Haydn, Jan·ek's piece began by evoking a pensive mood characterized by dissonant tones and unusual chords.
These built to a stylishly forceful passage, which died down to a melancholic lull. A cascading waterfall of notes led the way to the piece's most memorable section of oddly-timed rests that caught the listener off-guard.
The music almost seemed like it was stumbling, starting and abruptly stopping when the listener least expected it.
The piece then moved into a vigorous reiteration of the main theme, followed by tranquil echoes of the melody. Lewis' passion was evident as he played the piece.
At one point, the pianist rose from his seat for a split-second in a feverish state, only to return his hands to the piano in preparation for for a powerful crescendo. Scales sliced through the air like razor blades thanks to Lewis' crystal clear yet amazingly agile playing.
After a brief pause, Lewis returned to the stage for his third piece of the night, Haydn's "Piano Sonata in E-flat major."
The piece began with major and minor descending scales, which Lewis executed meticulously.
While the pianist's left hand often provided the underlying melody of the piece, usually playing single notes, the right hand kept remarkably busy, feverishly running up and down the piano in a never-ending series of scales. Lewis took special care to keep the listeners hooked on every note, at one point holding his right hand in the air for a few moments before letting it fall back upon the piano to continue the piece.
At points during the second Haydn piece, Lewis would unleash his wildly feverish playing upon the keyboard, particularly at dramatic crescendos, but would quickly return to a reserved state.
Yet his passion was taken to even more extreme heights in the final piece of the night, Schubert's "Piano Sonata in A major No. 20." Schubert's piece started with a grand flourish of notes that quickly led into a series of airy scales.
The piece was full of subtle modulations, which Lewis appropriately played with a skilled delicacy.
After a few minutes of playing, Lewis suddenly wrenched himself from the piano with dramatic flair as he approached a cadence in the music.
He then returned to the next movement with an established graceful poise, continuing into a series of fluid arpeggios, and then into a lilting, melancholic passage sprinkled with occasional forceful accents.
Between movements, Lewis took dramatic pauses, deceiving the listener into thinking the piece was over and then cleverly resuming the piece moments later.
About halfway through Schubert's piece came the main theme, which was a highly memorable melody that many listeners no doubt recognized as the main title theme from the TV series "Wings".
This melody was the focal point of the second half of the piece, a theme which he occasionally abandoned for highly emotional, stormy passages. The thunderous, triumphant ending of the piece drew roaring applause.
In addition to wowing the audience at the Concert Hall, Lewis has generated an impressive number of accolades throughout his career.
The pianist has performed in just about every famous venue in the United Kingdom with virtually every prestigious orchestra or ensemble and has won numerous awards, including France's Diapason d'Or Choc de l'AnnÈe 2002.
Lewis's plans for this year include a tour of Australia and New Zealand, as well as the completion of a Schubert recording for commercial release.