Stephen Kovacevich

Stephen Kovacevich

Perth Concert Hall

Miranda Heggie

WITH a line up comprising some of the world's finest concert pianists, the new season of Perth Piano Sundays is set to be an exciting showcase of pianistic repertoire.

In this inaugural recital, L.A. born pianist Stephen Kovacevich was welcomed to the stage with an engaging and insightful introduction from presenter Michael Tumelty, of The Herald.

Opening with J S Bach's Partita No. 4, Kovacevich played with seamless fluency, both parts intermingling with elegant elasticity. Moving on to a set of four pieces by Brahms, played in the order they were written, this was a spectacular way to illustrate the composer's transitions from a man in his early 20s, to the later years of his life.

At once adopting a rich, deeply hued dimension - a stark contrast from the clear, clean timbre of the Bach - Kovacevich gave a compelling interpretation of Brahms' vibrant and colourful music. The early Ballade in D minor began with a gently eerie sense of foreboding, before erupting with a fiery passion, while the later Intermezzo in A flat major was played with a dream like fluidity, the notes blurring into one-another, giving the musical equivalent of an impressionist painting.

A delightful collection of piano pieces by Schubert had a charming and tender quality to them, though Kovacevich's astounding virtuosity was truly displayed in his playing of Beethoven's piano sonata number 31. Evoking a vast array of tone and colour, from the sharp, spiky, scherzo to the sublime, almost ethereal final movement, the audience was carried on a captivating voyage.

Played with a distilled intensity and rigorous sense of drive, this was an ardent and invigorating performance of this most powerful and compelling work.