COURTESY NANCY HATHAWAY
The Honolulu Symphony unveiled a new concert grand piano named the "Masaki Steinway" after piano instructor Ellen Masaki, above.
Piano performances
are wonderful tribute
The Honolulu Symphony concert honoring longtime local piano instructor Ellen Masaki was one to remember.
Coming Up
Jon Nakamatsu recital:Part of the Ellen Masaki schedule of gala piano concert events
Where: Neal Blaisdell Concert Hall
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Admission: $15 to $57
Call: 792-2000
After a breakneck race through Shostakovich's Festive Overture Tuesday night, the symphony unveiled its new concert grand piano, named the "Masaki Steinway," which was blessed by Kordell Kekoa, of Kamehameha Schools. The ceremony included commendations by Mayor Jeremy Harris and Gov. Linda Lingle, who declared last Monday "Ellen Masaki Day."
The leis and accolades were lovely, but what made the concert so memorable were the featured pianists: Both received well-deserved standing ovations.
Sean Kennard, a handsome 18-year-old surrounded afterward by young women requesting autographs, began piano lessons with Masaki when he was 10. He is currently studying at the Curtis Institute. An inspiration to the many young pianists in the audience, he presented a thrilling performance of Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
Under Kennard's long, slender fingers, the Rachmaninoff variations acquired a rare grace. Kennard's light touch, sweet tone and strong sense of phrasing yielded an exceptionally musical interpretation, and his sensuous reading of the famous Variation No. 18 had the audience humming through intermission.
In the second half, the widely acclaimed Andre Watts, a friend of Masaki's, performed Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2.
Words cannot describe the sheer beauty of Watts' style -- his warm rich sound, his exciting voicing, his astonishing clarity and perfect evenness, even through cascades of notes. And, of course, that indescribable "flow" that comes only with years of playing. Watts so clearly played not notes, but the music, silently singing his way through the score, eliciting exquisite pianissimos and foot-stomping fortissimos.
Watts melded beautifully with the orchestra but, characteristically humble, attributed that to maestro Samuel Wong: "He's really committed. He believes that the music must live in the moment." A soloist's conductor, Wong tailors the orchestra to showcase the artist.
Watts was equally complimentary about the Masaki Steinway: "It has a very beautiful sound, which is not always true with concert grands. It's automatically poetic; you put your fingers in the right place, and it speaks."
Perhaps ... but it speaks more clearly for poets such as Watts and Kennard.
Ruth O. Bingham reviews classical music for the Star-Bulletin.
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