|
Crescendo Ignace "Iggy" Jang |
Pianist couple to perform
MendelssohnWith the Honolulu Symphony MasterWorks season coming to a close, I want to thank all who read my column and shared the symphony experience. The season was filled with outstanding concerts, from violinist Midori to our East Meets West night featuring the Chinese dizi (flute) to our sold-out weekend with the Galways. But we've saved some of the best for last. Pianists Misha and Cipa Dichter will dazzle us in a sparkling piano duet and maestro Samuel Wong will conclude the festivities with Prokofiev's grand Fifth Symphony.
Pianist Misha Dichter is a superstar who performs in all corners of the world and is also a member of our symphony ohana. We're pleased to welcome him back to Hawaii. While in New York last spring, he lent us his expertise when a symphony contingent selected a new concert piano for our stage. This week, he'll have the chance to reconnect with this prized instrument. And, he'll be joined on stage by his wife and musical partner for more than 30 years, Cipa Dichter. The couple will perform Felix Mendelssohn's Concerto for Two Pianos in E major, a work rarely performed in concert halls these days due to the demands placed on both pianists. It takes a special pairing of talents to take on such a piece!
Symphony finale
Honolulu Symphony performs Mendelssohn's Concerto for Two Pianos and Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony, with Misha and Cipa Dichter.In concert: 8 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. Sunday
Place: Blaisdell Concert Hall
Tickets: $16, $28, $33, $44 and $59
Call: 792-2000 or Ticketmaster at 877-750-4400; or order at www.honolulusymphony.com
Mendelssohn, who often played duets with his sister, composed this vivacious concerto when he was only 14. It's bursting with youthful joy and charisma, and reflects the perfect musical pairing of two pianists who understand each other's every move.
Born in 1809, Mendelssohn was a prolific composer and talented pianist. As a composer, he pushed the boundaries of piano composition. During his youth, famous artists, writers and philosophers would gather at his family home for musical soirees. He even studied with Goethe's friend Karl Zelter and became a favorite of the old poet. This encouraged the young Felix to compose more than 60 works -- including six symphonies and three operas -- before he reached puberty.
It was during one of these gatherings, in 1823, that he premiered the Concerto for Two Pianos, with his sister Fanny. Fanny was also a gifted composer and pianist, but women from wealthy families were not encouraged to pursue careers outside the home back then, and her talents took a backseat to her brother's.
Felix was supportive of her talents (though he discouraged her from trying to publish her music) and often sought her advice on musical matters, sending drafts of his compositions for her stamp of approval.
Not permitted to perform in public, Fanny's moments to shine would have come at home, before family, friends and especially, her brother.
Experienced performance partners such as Felix and Fanny have an edge when conveying the unbridled exuberance that works such as this piano concerto demand. The Dichters have mastered their artistic partnership over many years and have teamed to bring many previously neglected works of the two-piano and piano-four-hand repertoires to the concert stage.
Pianists Misha, left, and Cipa Dichter will perform with the Honolulu Symphony.
When they first joined hands on the keyboard, though, the music-making didn't go quite as smoothly. According to Cipa, communicating was not her husband's strong suit. His comments during practice seemed harsh at times, but Misha was oblivious to the conflict he caused. His ability to change, from professional musician one moment to loving husband the next, confounded Cipa. But you need only glance at the glowing reviews over the years to know that their musical relationship became one in which they are perfectly in tune with each other.
Today, Cipa credits the commitment they made to communication at the keyboard as the key to their long-lasting success.
After years of practice and mutual understanding, the Dichters have reached perfect harmony on the piano. You'll hardly notice them looking at each other during the performance. They communicate intuitively and there will be only a few times when maestro Wong steps in, just so the orchestra can be a part of their intimate moments in the concerto.
THE SECOND WORK of our season finale evening is Prokofiev's glorious Fifth Symphony. The Russian composer described this symphony, which premiered in 1945, as "the culmination of a long period of my creative life. It is a symphony of the grandeur of the human spirit."
Indeed, he considered it to be his finest creation, filled with vivid expressions of hope. That same hope spread through many countries in 1944 and 1945 as the tide of World War II turned. The premiere of the symphony coincided with news of the German defeat at the hands of the Russian army. In a strikingly symbolic moment, as Prokofiev raised his baton at the beginning of the performance, 20 triumphant volleys of an artillery salute were heard outside the hall. Prokofiev's Fifth is a work filled with confidence and optimism, and it's the ideal conclusion for the Halekulani MasterWorks 2003-04 season.
I extend heartfelt thanks to supporters of the Honolulu Symphony. We wish you a great summer and look forward to seeing you again soon. We'll be back in the concert hall in September to showcase such works as Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," Dvorak's Cello Concerto, Handel's "Water Music Suite," Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 and much more!
Ignace "Iggy" Jang is the Honolulu Symphony's concertmaster. His column will appear on the Monday prior to each concert of the season to illuminate works to be performed. E-mail comments and questions to Jang at suggestions@honolulusymphony.com
