REVIEWS

Michael Davidman, Pianist - Summit Music Festival Post by Donald Isler » Tue Aug 06, 2024 7:25 pm

 

Michael Davidman, Pianist

Summit Music Festival Thornwood, New York

Monday, August 5th, 2024

 

Maurice Ravel: Valses Nobles et Sentimentales

Frédéric Chopin: Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23

Florent Schmitt: "Sous la tente" from Salammbô, Op. 76

César Franck: Prélude, Choral et Fugue, FWV 21

Frédéric Chopin: Scherzo No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 31

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The opening recital was given last night by the 27-year-old American pianist, Michael Davidman, who studied at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege with Mr. Briskin for ten years, after which he went on to the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School, and other well-known teachers such as Robert McDonald, Jerome Lowenthal, Stanislav Ioudenitch and Stephen Hough.

 

He is one of the most exciting young pianists around. He exudes confidence but not arrogance, he understands particularly well the Romantic and Impressionist idioms of the music on this program, and he is a finished artist.

 

The Ravel Valses Nobles et Sentimentales were delightful! The first waltz had spirit and high energy as well as charm. The second was quiet, thoughtful, reflective. The third was light and playful, and the fourth, dreamy. Other waltzes ranged from tentative to outgoing to boisterous to slow and searching. The work concluded beautifully with a long, slow fadeout.

 

Mr. Davidman's playing of the Chopin Ballade was thoughtful and eloquent, with a wide range of dynamics and many interesting ideas. It was so good that it seemed he was creating the music - something new and fresh - as he went along (as opposed to giving yet another stale version of an overplayed warhorse). This is how a performance SHOULD sound!

 

The Schmitt work is based on Flaubert's historical novel, Salammbô, which takes place in Carthage in the Third Century BCE. It begins with a mysterious-sounding motive accompanied by fast, repeated octaves and then chords. It is largely in sections that start and stop, and the emotions vary from rambunctious to thoughtful to crying out. The harmonies seemed quasi-Impressionist while the feel of this rarely heard work was Romantic.

 

Mr. Davidman set sail in the Franck Prélude, Chorale and Fugue, giving an interpretation that had elegance, refinement and expressivity. He showed the music's ins and outs of intensity and was sensitive to the colors of the changing harmonies. The Chorale displayed deep thought, and he played with a DEEP tone. The Fugue flowed and soared. It was powerful, and he showed clearly the point at which the themes of the two previous movements return.

 

The final work on the printed program (which was played without an intermission) was the B-Flat Minor Scherzo of Chopin. It was played with drama and brilliance. The right-hand fast notes in the middle section sounded like professional caliber ice skating and there were some nice original touches, such as the unusually long pause before the main theme returned afterwards, and, lastly, the mad dash to the end.Michael Davidman played one encore, which I didn't recognize. As it sounded like Rachmaninoff, I was, indeed, pleased to learn that it was the Earl Wild transcription of a Rachmaninoff Song, "The Muse," his Op. 34, No. 1. It was calm, searching and lovely.

 

This was a wonderful concert!

 

Donald Isler,

The Classical Music Guide