| Colaianni was honored to have played a part in the piano performances and visit to Hot Springs by Steinway Artist Simone Dinnerstein |
Music REVIEW :
HOT SPRINGS — Pianist Simone Dinnerstein was as
good as “Goldberg” Saturday afternoon in the Crystal
Ballroom of the Arlington Hotel.
As part of the Hot Springs Music Festival’s “All Keyed Up”
series, Dinnerstein played J.S. Bach’s Goldberg
Variations as though Bach had written it, not only for the
88-key modern Steinway, but just for her.
HOT SPRINGS — Pianist Simone Dinnerstein was as
good as “Goldberg” Saturday afternoon in the Crystal
Ballroom of the Arlington Hotel.
As part of the Hot Springs Music Festival’s “All Keyed Up”
series, Dinnerstein played J.S. Bach’s Goldberg
Variations as though Bach had written it, not only for the
88-key modern Steinway, but just for her.
| American pianist Simone Dinnerstein has fast been gaining international attention as a commanding and charismatic artist, and as one of the most compelling women pianists performing today. Steinway B Grand |
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Dinnerstein describes her approach to
music as a current interpretation of timeless work.
music as a current interpretation of timeless work.
The piece is sort of an endurance contest for performer and audience, about 78 minutes of music
(supposedly written to entertain an insomniac nobleman), about the same length as Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony, without an intermission and with only a couple of water breaks for the soloist.
It consists of a beautiful, relatively simple aria, played before and after 30 variations, each with 32
measures and of varying complexity.
(supposedly written to entertain an insomniac nobleman), about the same length as Beethoven’s Ninth
Symphony, without an intermission and with only a couple of water breaks for the soloist.
It consists of a beautiful, relatively simple aria, played before and after 30 variations, each with 32
measures and of varying complexity.
Dinnerstein, who topped the classical charts with her recent recording of this work, treated the opening and closing aria with the
same Romanticism she might use in a Chopin sonata or a Mendelssohn song without words, giving it a timeless feel that prevails
over the Baroque ornamentation that characterizes many of the variations.
Dinnerstein played the variations with zeal, compassion, finesse and sometimes all three, depending on whether they were
boisterous and dancelike or dreamlike and dissonant.
By careful and judicious use of half- and quarter-pedal, she gave the music color without muddying the notes, and in some
variations her acrobatic crossing of hands (something that wouldn’t have been a problem with the two-manual harpsichord for
which Bach originally wrote it) she was as entertaining to watch as to hear.
This article was published Sunday, January 27, 2008.
same Romanticism she might use in a Chopin sonata or a Mendelssohn song without words, giving it a timeless feel that prevails
over the Baroque ornamentation that characterizes many of the variations.
Dinnerstein played the variations with zeal, compassion, finesse and sometimes all three, depending on whether they were
boisterous and dancelike or dreamlike and dissonant.
By careful and judicious use of half- and quarter-pedal, she gave the music color without muddying the notes, and in some
variations her acrobatic crossing of hands (something that wouldn’t have been a problem with the two-manual harpsichord for
which Bach originally wrote it) she was as entertaining to watch as to hear.
This article was published Sunday, January 27, 2008.