On Friday evening, I had the pleasure of seeing award winning classical Russian pianist Olga Kern grace the stage of Alice Tully Hall in New York City’s Lincoln Center. Kern performed in a solo piano concert as part of the Cherry Orchard Festival.
As an audience member who is not a classical music expert, I was curious as to how a solo pianist could keep the attention of the audience for a 90 minute program with one intermission. The first step is keeping the audience comfortable. Alice Tully Hall had the most generous amount of leg room I have ever experienced in a theater. This was a good start to put you in the right frame of mind to relax and enjoy.
Next step was to toss in some elegance. The beautiful Kern arrived onstage in a gorgeous strapless blue and gold gown by designer Alex Teih. She then took a seat at the Yamaha CFX Grand Concert Piano and the magic began of seeing a gift brought to life.
Kern is captivating with her incredible skill and expressiveness. It was easy to see why she was the first woman in 30 years to receive the gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001. Her fingers moved flawlessly across the keys as quickly as a bird’s wings.
Her first piece was Beethoven’s Ten Variation on a Saleri Theme, in B-flat major. Saleri was a teacher Beethoven admired.
She followed this 15 minutes piece with a longer arrangement, Robert Schuman’s Carnaval Op. 9 (Scenes mignonnes sur quatres notes) or “little scenes on four notes.”
Following intermission she returned to the stage again to play two pieces by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Kern changed into a beautiful black and red gown also by Teih.
She began to play Five Preludes, Op. 32. The five preludes are part of the 13 Rachmaninoff completed over 19 days. Shortly into the piece, she stood up and excused herself noting that a key was off. Quickly someone came out onto the stage and readjusted the key. As he was fixing the piano, she noted that she could have continued playing but wanted to be perfect. And perfect she was, quickly picking back up and continuing and completing the arrangement.
She closed with the beautiful and complex Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 36.
Kern received a well deserved standing ovation. After the first ovation she returned for an encore, which became one of three encore numbers. Though much shorter than the prior arrangements, they were just as compelling as she made a lifetime of piano playing seem effortless.