NCH, Dublin
Beethoven – Sonata in B flat Op 106 “Hammerklavier”. Chopin – Berceuse. Barcarolle. Nocturne in C sharp minor Op 27 No 1. Nocturne in E minor Op 72 No 1. Nocturne in E flat Op 9 No 2. Ballade No 1.
JOHN O’CONOR’S recital was presented by the Dublin International Piano Competition. He is the competition’s founding father; and his standing in the international world of such events is unassailable, justified by his record as a performer.
The publicity for this concert mentioned that he had played Beethoven's Hammerklaviersonata in his first ever recital at the National Concert Hall, back in 1982. Putting this mighty piece as the opening item, and the sole item in the first half, was unusual; but thanks to the coherent choice of works by Chopin in the second half, it worked.
One could hear many of the reasons why O'Conor has a considerable reputation as a player of Beethoven – the ability to shape a phrase beautifully, to colour a texture, to create telling contrasts. However, in this concert he was not on his strongest form, especially in holding together works that present immense challenges of musical intellect – Chopin's Barcarolleand Ballade No 1, as well as the Beethoven. I was reminded of John Barbirolli's long recording career with the Hallé Orchestra. The cogency of the early performances was lost as pieces got longer, slower, more fragmented and, inevitably, less coherent. The Hammerklavieris so vast that it needs relentless cogency; and in this performance, that was replaced with the beauties of the moment.
The strongest music-making was in some of the Chopin, and especially in the nocturne in E minor Op. 72 No. 1. Beauties of line and structure were captured impeccably in this piece, which, though published posthumously, had been composed back in 1827, two years before Chopin graduated from the Warsaw Conservatory. It must have been impeccable miniatures like this which prompted the writer of his final report to declare, “Chopin F., third-year student, exceptional talent, musical genius”.
