Piano Recital

Tonight, Yusuf and I attended a piano recital by Yin Cheng Zong (殷承宗). It was held at the new P.C. Ho Theatre, Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto. Our choir, Alata Harmonia Chorus of Canada, will also be performing there on Nov 11.

The programme for the evening includes:
Sonata in C Major - Baldassare Galuppi
Sonata in F Minor, Opus 57 ("Appassionata") - Ludwig van Beethoven
The Seasons, Opus 37b - Peter Ilyikch Tchaikovsky

I was not too fond of the first piece. Perhaps the first piece is more quiet in nature, so to me, it wasn't a "showy" piece. He has excellent control and almost rubber-like fingers. It was amazing to watch. The second piece was good, especially the last movement. He has the strength to carry out the runs, but also control to spring back to a p when required. The last piece was why I was at the concert. I love The Seasons by Tchaikovsky! Especially "Troika", also known as Sleigh Ride.

At the end of the concert, audience were thrilled with excitement and gave generous applause. He then played 2 Chinese pieces as his encore.

Before he played these 2 encore pieces, I thought his interpretations and musicality was very good. However, in playing the 2 Chinese songs, his expressions were heightened in these pieces. It was much more magical, as if that was possible, and phrasing were even more lyrical than the programme pieces.

I think the concert ended on a great note, however, the encore pieces were so impressive that under comparison, his programme seems somewhat less refined.