Pianist shines in debut with little known music
Music Review
Francine Kay, pianist, in recital at the NAC Studio, as part of
the Debut Series, Sunday afternoon only |
Sonata in A, Op. 2, No. 2
Fantasy, Op. 49
Fantasy, Elegie, Toccata
Valses Nobles et Sentimentales
Preludes, Book II (3)
L'Isle Joyeuse |
Beethoven
Chopin
Morawetz
Ravel
Debussy
Debussy |
It was more like a summer thunderstorm inside the NAC Studio on Sunday
afternoon than the winter blizzard outside. Pianist Francine Kay was making her
debut in an ambitious program and her playing and choice of music were more
feverish than frigid.
Actually the most convicing playing came in the second part of the longish
program, pieces by Toronto's Oscar Morawetz and by Debussy and Ravel.
It was the Morawetz that, significantly, was given the most commanding
performance. Perhaps it is in music that is less well known, less open to
comparison with other interpretations, that Kay comes through most successfully
at this stage of her development.
Not that there is anything wrong with her musical ideas. They do not hew to
convention, but neither do they stray far off the traditional mark.
The Morawetz piece was given a reading of such magnetic presence that one
wondered why it is not heard in recital more often. It was treated with respect
and played with imagination and I am certain the composer would have approved
both the spirit and the letter of the performance.
[...]
