Lewis leans away from Beethoven

Author: Andrew Throdahl

Pianist Paul Lewis graced Middlebury with a complete cycle of Beethoven's piano sonatas throughout the 2005 and 2006 seasons, but the completion of the cycle certainly has not deterred Lewis from returning to Middlebury with different composers in his fingers. His performance last Friday evening, which offered no Beethoven, proved that Lewis is a persistently sophisticated musician, unconcerned with showpieces but capable of tackling technical hurdles better than any of those insecure pianists who pay more attention to their affected hand motions and body movements than their tedious late Romantic repertoire.

The first half of Lewis' program was framed by longer, single movement Mozart compositions, the C Minor Fantasia K. 475 and the A Minor Rondo K. 511. Lewis' straightforward approach to Mozart seemed to focus on expressive elements, but he seemed careful not to douse them with too much Romanticism. The most shocking part of the concert was not in Lewis' technique or interpretation, but his decision to play Ligeti's "Musica Ricercata" and the following Mozart Rondo "attacca," or without stopping. Usually applause is a kind of cleansing of the palate, but Lewis saw similarities between the works that could not be severed by claps. The shift from atonal to tonal was a bit gruff, but ultimately justified and moving.

Ligeti's "Musica Ricercata" is undoubtedly a modern masterpiece, and a veritable lesson in contemporary harmony. Ligeti's concept merits explanation - the first movement is composed entirely of the pitch A, ending in its dominant, D. Each subsequent movement adds another pitch value. As the work progresses Ligeti substitutes earlier constraints with contrapuntal procedures, and the work culminates in an "atonal" canon. Each movement is shaped on an obsessive motive, be it a complex arpeggio, or, as in the second movement (made famous by Stanley Kubrick's film "Eyes Wide Shut"), a half step. The progression of the work, from tonality to atonality, points towards Ligeti's great achievements of 1960s, his monolithic explorations of microtones and sound masses.

Lewis faced Ligeti's distilled technical demands with no apparent trouble. Instantly astonishing were the accelerating octaves at the end of the first movement. This passage would probably look deceptively easy on paper, but not many pianists can bang out a series of repeated octaves that accelerate from very slow to very fast in the space of few seconds. Lewis seemed un-phased by the seventh movement's horrible left-hand ostinato, which repeats at full speed for three and a half minutes. In this movement, and movements of similar complexity, he managed to call the listener's attention to the melody rather than the accompaniment, by way of shaping phrases and dynamics.

Schubert's G Major Piano Sonata D. 894, which comprised the second half of the program, seemed to slow down time. The first movement alone, played with a repeat of the exposition, lasts roughly a half-hour, although it is structured like any other Sonata-Allegro movement. Thankfully, Lewis did not play the repeat, in doing so balancing the first movement with the remaining three. He made nuanced adjustments in the recapitulations of themes, which in turn helped to provide contrast.

I tend to forget how Schubert rewards the patient listener - the final movement's wry modulations and convivial character was as engaging as anything else on the program. Overall, Lewis seemed to be as comfortable with Schubert as he was with Beethoven.

There is something to be said for knowing the hall you play in. I was reminded of a concert a few years ago, when the pianist took the first half of his program to realize he was playing too percussively for the hall. By contrast, Lewis knows exactly how to play in the Mahaney Center for the Arts concert hall, perhaps as a result of his now extensive experience in it. He captured an exquisite tone in the softer movements of the Schubert, and never became too harsh in the Ligeti. With his technical facility, insightful interpretations and apparent dedication to Middlebury, Lewis has become an asset to our art scene. When he returns next year, I trust he will live up to our expectations.