Van Cliburn winner wows piano audience at Xavier (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
On Sunday at the Gallagher Student Center of Xavier University, Fabio Bidini presented a recital of mostly flamboyant romantic music to an appreciative Xavier Piano Series audience.
He presented an interesting picture of Chopin, who brought his melancholy into his music, and Schumann, who, although afflicted with mental and physical illnesses, projected a great joy of life into his works.
Mozart’s Sonata in A minor is actually an atypical example of the composer’s keyboard works. Rather than refined, graceful phrases, the music boils over with an inner rebellion more Beethoven-like in nature.
Bidini presented a romanticized version of this work, softening its rough edges with judicious use of the pedal and warm phrasing. The driving force of the first movement gave way to a sweetly lyrical tune in the middle movement, where Bidini displayed a wonderful sense of tonal color. The Rondo-finale was a spirited yet innocent dance, far from the grim visage of the first movement.
Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G minor is a warhorse of the concert repertoire. From a wistfully melancholy first theme, the music moves into a tempestuous mood, interrupted briefly by a waltz-like interlude.
Bidini gave the opening of the Ballade so much rubato that the forward motion of the music, at times, became stalled. When the second theme reached a fortissimo, the right hand octaves thundered out with absolute clarity. The final coda is demonic; a little less pedal would have let the listener hear the cascading notes more clearly.
Chopin’s Polonaise in A-flat Major is even more of a war-horse than the Ballade. This work reveals Chopin’s keen sense of nobility and his penchant for the use of dances as concert pieces. Again, a little less pedal would have given the music more power and grit. Bidini played the reverberating left hand octaves in the middle section with such conviction that one could hear a powerful steam engine surging down the track.
Schumann’s “Carnaval,” Opus 9, is one of his greatest and most difficult solo piano works. This work is really a collection of divergent short pieces held together by Schumann’s great genius.
Bidini’s large technique made everything about this music seem easy. The section entitled “Paganini,” a test of technique and endurance, was simply incredible.
The enthralled audience was treated to an encore: Sonata No. 5 in C Major by Galuppi.
