1

Piano Critique

I went to a piano recital performance at the Ford-Crawford Hall on Thursday evening, December
3rd. The pianist was Ardalan Vossoughi. Although the perfromace was to start at eight thirty but
because of my excitement I reached at the venue one hour before the schedule. I went there for
the purpose completing my paper for the piano class but the when I listened to the masterpieces
played by Vossoughi I was completely mesmerized. I really enjoyed my first experience to listen
to a piano recital by such a great pianist of our times. During the complete recital Vossoughi
played several pieces which are written by some of the famous musicians and composers. The
first piece that was played by Vossoughi was written by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757). The
first piece played by the pianist was Sonata in E major, then he played Sonata A minor and
Sonata in D minor. The second piece that the pianist played was Sonata in G major that was
written by Franz Schubert (1797-1828). Finally Vossoughi ended the recital by playing a
beautiful Ballade in F major that was written by Fryderyk Chopin (1810-1849).

Once the concert started I completely forgot about the outside world the slow melody of minor
chords which was played in low pitches with the contrast of a lone high note made me think that
there was certain similarity with the piano sonata “Temptest” of Beethoven. The main reason for
this feeling might be as I have heard a lot of similar techniques during my course. The opening
performance gave me a feeling of the calmness that engulfs the cold winter night just before a
storm. The initial piece that is played by the Pianist has a beautiful melody which makes the
mood slow and there is very little changes in the dynamics. While in the next performance there
is a stark contrast between the dynamics and the tempo. Then again the notes return to the
beginning after which the pianist played a fast and long arpeggio. This piece sounded similar like
a stream of water gushing out of a broken ice in a river. Suddenly this movement ends. The
Scarlatti has the ending mood of Januar. The pianist starts with a very happy melody which gives
a feeling of small animals coming out of springs. The second piece played by the pianist of the
Scarlatti’s composition has some variations with the main melody where the pianist has
employed different techniques. The last piece of the Scarlatti’s composition has the fast and
syncopated rhythm where the pianist playing the rhythm with the right hand and switching in
between the chords with the left hands. The music has very fast arpeggiated chords. When the
pianist started playing the composition of the of Schubert I found the same fast arpeggiatted
 2

chords being played where the hands swiftly changes their role for a while. The melody and
tempo gave me a feeling of the streams flowing in a never ending river. The theme of the next
composition played by the pianist revolves around the harvest and victory. The chords are very
bright and it is played in a very cheerful manner. There is a swift tone and then the complete
mood changes to the very beginning similar to the minor chords. Then suddenly it changes into
fast tempo and finally the tempo becomes very fast like a storm. In the final piece the tempo
started with a very sad melody which is the specialty of most of the Chopin’s composition. This
is my personal favorite movement. The pianist plays with the variations in the main melody
using different techniques. The last variations were one of the most difficult variations to play.
The main challenging part of the last variation is that all the rapid chords were at the left hand
which makes it quite challenging for a pianist. But Vossoughi played with ease. After the recital
ended I analyzed that during the introduction the pianist tried to set up a playful and humorous
atmosphere. In the second movement the pianist showed liveliness and exuberance where the he
swiftly changes the tempo and does several variations in the tunes. The final movement that was
played by the pianist has a very stark contrast from the second movement. The melody in the
final movement was very slow and it ended on quieter note.

After experiencing such melodies I can say that the passion in me for music has increased
manifold. Although all the compositions were excellently played by the pianist but my favorite
one was the second one. The second piece captured the mood and emotion of the audience in the
hall. I hope to attend more of such recitals in future.
 3

References

Gould, J. (2005). What Did They Play?: The Changing Repertoire of the Piano Recital from the
Beginnings to 1980. The Musical Times, 146(1893), p.61.