Jordanian-Palestinian pianist Iyad Sughayer delivered a captivating performance to a packed Robinson Hall on March 7, marking the second stop on his first professional North American tour. The performance featured four pieces by four different composers and filled the hall with energy and excitement.
His debut album, “Khachaturian: Piano Works” for BIS Records, has already been recognized as “One to Watch” by International Piano magazine, and he was named a 2022 “Rising Star” nominee by Classic FM. At the concert, Sughayer performed four pieces, each with a distinct style from different countries, demonstrating his talent across various genres.
The evening opened with Mozart’s 1788 “Adagio in B Minor, K. 540.” Although this piece is one of Mozart's lesser-known works, it is regarded as one of his finest. Written in a minor key, the composition evokes a sense of darkness and solitude, almost as if the composer was experiencing personal pain.
Based on the artist’s interpretation, this piece could last between 5.5 minutes and 16 minutes. Sughayer played for around 10 minutes and gave a brief introduction between the first and second pieces.
The next composition was “Drei Klavierstücke, D946” by Franz Schubert, a talented composer who was afflicted with illness for most of his life. The piece, performed in E major, felt quick, almost as if it was racing away from something inescapable — death. Filled with tenderness, Sughayer’s performance captured Schubert’s deep appreciation for life, expertly controlling the speed of the music so that each note felt imbued with emotion.
After the intermission, the tone of the concert shifted. The two guest composers featured in the second half were not traditionally considered part of the Western classical canon. The third piece of the evening, “Six Impromptus, Op. 5” by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, blended Western classical tradition with elements of Finnish folk music.
“[Sibelius] was probably thinking: do I just try to write kind of standard classical music, be successful in the West, or do I go this Finnish Nationalist route, which no composer had done before [me]?” Professor Emeritus of Music Larry Hamberlin said during the pre-concert lecture.
Sughayer’s seamless performance of the six pieces without any pause between them showcased his remarkable sensitivity to dynamic shifts, his deft range and his exceptional professionalism.
The evening concluded with a revised version of the Piano Sonata in E-flat Major by Soviet-Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian. Though Khachaturian was not a pianist, this work is vibrant and expressive, incorporating harmonies unique to Armenian folk music.
In the encore, Sughayer performed the song “Children’s Album, Book 1: I: Andantino” from Khachaturian’s Piano Works, featured in his debut album. Sughayer’s performance was nothing short of spectacular, leaving the audience in awe.
“[This is a] program by a Palestinian-British pianist that combines unfamiliar music by familiar composers, and piano works by composers who aren’t typically associated with the piano,” Hamberlin said. “Especially in the second half, we hear two composers whose national identity was deeply intertwined with their music, each trying to fuse disparate musical elements. All of this resulted in some truly beautiful music that we got to enjoy, performed by a fabulous artist whom I believe we will be hearing much more from.”
