A GIFTED ARTIST

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22020, 1 August 1933, Page 8

A GIFTED ARTIST

MR PAUL VINOGRADOFF ENJOYABLE PIANOFORTE EECITAL. During the past few years Dunedin music-lovers have been afforded numerous opportunities of acquainting themselves with the artistic and technical equipment of a large number of visiting musicians and of studying the interpretative styles represented, and with the first appearance in Dunedin of Mr Paul Vraogradoff, who presented a pianoforte recital before a small audience in the Town Hall Concert Chamber last evening, the city's musical experience was still further enriched, for it is extremely doubtful if a Dunedin audience has ever beard more sympathetically-artistic expositions of the works of the great masters .of music than those achieved by this pianist. Possessing technical skill of a calibre which was more than equal to the demands made upon it by the compositions of such geniuses of the pianoforte as Liszt, Chopin, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff Mr Vinogradoff has yet greater claims to'recognition as an artist by reason of the exquisite delicacy of his interpretative shading and his complete accord with the moods of the composers. As an exponent of the works of Chopin he exhibited a poetic insight into their interpretative requirements which created a profound impression, while his readings of the various compositions of other composers were also essentially in the best of artistic taste, and the audience compensated to some extent for its meagre proportions by the spontaneity and genuineness of its expressions of high approval throughout the recital. . ..■, The pianist opened his programme witn an inspiring performance of the famous Sonata No. 2, Opu s 27 ("The Moonlight Sonata"), by Beethoven, in which his delicate interpretative colouring, artistic expression, and sound technique immediately stamped him as a musician of remarkably high attainments.. The Scriabin Sonata-Fantasy, Opus 19, his second offerwas an arrestmgly beautiful work, which received the most sympatheticallyartistic treatment, the pianists tonal colouring and close attention to interpretative detail resulting in a performance which immediately captured the imagination. The Chopin bracket was introduced by seven, etudes, 0 minor. * minor G sharp minor, G flat ( Black Key"s. G flat ("Butterfly"). E major and A minor No. 11, which were played' with only the .slightest pause-between each Here again Mr Vmogradofl s brilliant technical skill, and the perfection of his artistrv as displayed in a masterly exposition of Chopin in various moods called forth the warmest expressions of appreciation from the audience, which were renewed on his presentation of the two remaining Chopin compositions, Berceuse, and Waltz in A flat the latter being a magnificent exhibition of technical virility. The performance of five preludes composed by himself, these consisting of two works in E flat minor, and compositions in D flat major, F sharp minor, and C minor, disclosed Mr Vinogradoff as a composer of imagination and originality, these works being sklfully. constructed on lines which displayed the influence of the modern school. Two Rachmaninoff compositions, the lovely Melody .in E major and " Polka de W. R.," an arrangement by the composer of one of his father's works, gave further evidence of the pianist's versatility in the field of interpretation, the programme proper concluding with a bracket of four Liszt compositions, "Waldesrauscheu" ("Forest Murmurs"), a delightfully colourful work, " Gnomenreigen" ("Dance of the Gnomes"), flic well-known ''Liebestraum," and "Venezia e Napoli," a, brilliant and exacting tarantella which was performed, with wonderful skill. Mr Vinogradoff was generous in his response to the requests for encores, playing the Etude in ¥ sharp minor (Scriabin), the pianist's own arrangement of Chopin's walzt in C sharp minor, a cadenza also composed by himself on Listz's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. and the glittering "La Campanclla," by Liszt, his performance of the last-named work being a brilliant conclusion to a recital of unusual interest. Mr VinOgradolf will present his second recital in flic Concert Chamber to-mor-row evening.