PIANO RECITAL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 14 August 1928, Page 2

PIANO RECITAL.

MISS ESTHER FISHER. INSPIRING PERFORMANCE. . Several features stand out clear in one’s mind after hearing the convincing performance given last night in St. Mary’s Hall by Miss Esther Fislien, a vonng New Zealander who has done brilliant things in London and Paris, and proved herself one of the most gifted pianists New Zealand has produced, one, too, of whom this Dominion may well be proud. She has the real and rare gift of inspiring her listeners by her simple earnestness and very evident love and reverence for "tlio divine nrt> in winch, she stands so high. One can feel in all her work that she has studied much more' than the mere technical part of music, and has endeavoured to see what was in the mind of the composer whose works she interprets. She has, too, that gift of all great artists of paying care to the smallest detail that will make for perfection, the ideal at which she aims all the time. She has distinct personality and temperament and seems to be able to get just the right atmosphere for every number and to enter fully into the spirit of the work and of the writer. Rut whatever it is she is playing, she aims always at the very best and most finished performance. Hie result is an absolutely convincing interpretation of every solo nunfber. She has remarkable power and execution, brilliant and finished in style, and a temperament that shines through all her work, investing it with an individuality which is quite arresting. Despite all this, her style is unassuming and simple, but possessing rare charm. Her stage presence is most attractive and no doubt is a factor in her success. Her technique is marvellous and her finger control remarkable. But above all and greatest of attractions to the listener is her serious and intelligent conception of all the numbers she includes on her programme, and her markedly able interpretation. These features combine to make her performance in every way noteworthy. There was a fine contrast in styles in the selected numbers, ranging as they did from the graceful Italian dance of the sixteenth century to the very latest of the modern school of to-day. Miss Fisher showed that she was able to enter fully and completely into the spirit and the motif of each varied and contrasted selection. There were four sections in the Recital and in each she achieved great success. Delicate and graceful were the pretty “Siciliana” and “La Tendre Nanette’’ and each feature was fully brought out. They were succeeded by the brilliant and striking “Bourree” and “Chaconne,” both Bach numbers as transcribed, the one by _ SaintSaens and the second, by Busoni. The Chaconne was a glorious number, revealing the nobility and spiritual loftiness of the great! master in a way that was altogether uplifting. Chopin was represened by tlie beautiful and graceful Ballade in F, opening with its Pastorale which, after several remarkable Presto movements, recurs again and again and ends in a lovely coda. Bracketed with it were an Etude in E major andtlie lovely Barcarolle, said to be Chopin’s expression of that “movement of rapture which occurs in all states of life.” The “Black Key Study” was added as an encore.

Four little gem si of musical expression, representing what the writer has seen in nature, made up the Debressy section of the programme. Each was perfect in meaning and presented a picture in music which the listener could hardly fail to appreciate. The “Gollywogs’ Dance” provided a nice contrast. The last number was in many ways the greatest, Prelude Chorale and Fugue by Cesar Franck, a composer whose work is founded on the great Bach, but who added the chorale between the other two movements which one so closely associates with the name of the master. It was! a superb and expressive number throughout, and thrilled the listeners. In it Miss Fisher showed herself perhaps at her very best. A delightful and typical chorale of Bach was added as a most appropriate encore.

Tlie performance was one that will live long in the memory of the hearers. Miss Fisher carries conviction right to the heart of her listeners by her undoubted sincerity and her thorough understanding of everything she plays—truly a remarkable programme.