IGNAZ FRIEDMAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24450, 8 November 1940, Page 10

IGNAZ FRIEDMAN

BRILLIANT POLISH PIANIST INVIGORATING PUBLIC RECITAL i .■•'■,' The art of Ignaz Friedman, the famous Polish pianist, has its foundations in a superb appreciation of the boundless possibilities of the pianoforte as a means Of interpreting the works of the masters of music, and when such an appreciation is allied to brilliant technical equipment and challenging and distinctive readings the result, is a stimulating and enthralling experience. The reactions of the large audience which heard Ignaz Friedman in the Town Hall Concert Chamber last night, when he presented a recital of works that enabled him to display the many facets of his profound musicianship . were immediate and, marked, and although his programme embraced a wide variety of compositions and provided a satisfying insigln into his impressive artistic and executive accomplishments, there were many who would have been content to keep the pianist at the instrument almost indefinitely, had that been possible. Although Friedman has the reputation of being one of the foremost Chopin exponents in the world, any predilection he may have for the compositions of his great compatriot has not bred in him a casual approach to those of the many other famous composers for the piano. Each and every work he seeks to interpret receives expressional treatment that commands the liveliest interest and admiration, and he has the ability to identify himself absolutely with the composer's mood and to expand and enrich it with his own individual tone colouring. This was first made manifest in his performance of Schumann's "Carnaval" Suite, with which he opened the recital. Throughout the swiftly-changing and sharply-con-trasted sections of the suite Mr Fried man emploved a wide variety oi moods, each of which had its own development and characteristics the sum of the presentation being a richly-co]oured pattern in which the more clamant designs blended perfectly with those of a more subdued and subtle shade.

In his croup of four Chopin compositions Mr Friedman produced all the poetic charm and graciousness of the works The Nocturne in B major. Op. 62, was an exquisite exhibition of delicacy and restraint, the tonai colouring being finely textured yet rich and warm. The brilliant Fantasia in F minor was a masterly performance in which virility and power marched side by side with perfect expressional control, this number being followed by a sensitive and satisfyingly artistic presentation of the scintillating Waltz in C sharp minor. The final Chopin number consisted of a bracket of four Etudes, the liquid and appealing Double Thirds, the Butterfly, the powerful Revolutionary, and the ever-popular Black Keys, all of which were played with delightful crispness an fluency. Compositions by Debussy, Albeniz, and Scriabine were presented by MiFriedman in the early part of the second half of the programme. Debussy's "Soiree dans Grenade" was replete with the composer's characteristic atmosphere, which was expertly interpreted by the pianist, and "Triana,"

by Albeniz, a typically rhythmic and richly-flavoured work, also received accomplished treatment. " Prelude," by Scriabine,. was a tenderly sentimental composition whic! was played with engaging grace and feeling. A brief.but ingenious little number, "Tabatiere a Musique " (The Musical Box), composed by tht pianist, was warmly appreciated by the' audience, and then Mr Friedman devoted himself to sterner stuft in the., performance of three compositions by Liszt. The first work was Etude in F minor, in which extraordinary fleetness of fingering demonstrated yet another side of the pianist's artistry. Even to the competent executant such a composition presents exceptional difficulties, but under Mr Friedman's faultless hands a brilliant and rippling pattern was unfolded effortlessly at tremendous speed. The short Valse Impromptu, in which tech-, nical. perfection was allied to rich interpretative shading, was followed by a glittering performance of "La Campanella," in which Mr Friedman's impeccable technique was again satisfyingly demonstrated. In response to requests for encores, Mr Friedman played a Chopin, waltz, a Viennese dance, a lively scherzo by Mendelssohn, and the melodious Gluck Gavotte. The proceeds of the recital are to be devoted to the tago Provincial Patriotic Funds.