Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Anyone see Yefim Bronfman at Koerner last night?

And if so, can you tell me what the second to last encore was?

What was the rest of the program?

-Daniel

I have the same question as Daniel. Isn't Bronfmann marvelous!

He was here?!???! How did I miss that..... argh.

I'm guessing this is near canada?

i am attending his recital on the 12th in NYC. His program is not terribly familiar on the performance circuit, with the exception of the Schumann It is probably the same program as the one discussed above.

BEETHOVEN

Thirty-Two Variations on an Original Theme in C Minor, WoO 80

JÖRG WIDMANN

XI Humoresken

SCHUMANN

Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26

TCHAIKOVSKY

Sonata in G Major, Op. 37

Yes Koerner Hall is at the Conservatory in Toronto and yes, same programme as teh NYC recital and yes, he amazing! Gave this daintly little shrug has he came out for his third encore - hilarious. I'm betting he'll do the same set of encores in New York so if you can name those pieces for me I'd be grateful. It's driving me nuts - I have two of them on cd (though I have a lot of cds) and they're actually well-known pieces but I just can't place them.

Generally interesting (and for me mostly unfamiliar) program. For me the second movement of the Tchaikovsky sonata was the highlight.

I saw him perform with Emmanuel Ax and he does seem to have a marvelous sense of humor and humility. Wonderful pianist.

Ah, I'm so jealous! I've seen Fima twice and it's still not enough. Big fan of his. Glad to hear you all enjoyed his performances.

I've heard him three times in the past few years. Once with the DSO and Rach 3 (which was AMAZING!), once with Emanuel Ax in Ann Arbor (amazing, once again), and once with a solo recital (incredibly powerful). The recital included: Tchaikovsky's "Dumka", Op. 59, the G major Sonata, Op. 37, Berg Sonata, Op. 1, the Schumann Arabesque, Op. 18, and the Prokofiev d minor Sonata, Op. 14.
I met him after the Rach 3 performance and he was very approachable and talkative, though he seemed drained and was still dripping with sweat.

Ah yes. He plays beautifully but he does not look healthy. I have seen him with Ax and I am looking forward to next Monday, and Justin, I shall report on the encores. Assuming I figure out what they were. Did you know what the other 2 encores were?

Two of the encore pieces were (according to Ken Winters' churlish and irritating-as-always review) Chopin's D-flat Nocturne, and Suggestions diaboliques by Prokofiev - had not heard the latter but then I know next to nothing about Prokofiev. One last piece that I've heard but can't place.

Agreed that Yefim needs to do something about his weight - that's an unhealthy load to be carrying around. Maybe PW should send him Jeff Garlin's book?

Are you referring to his weight?

What'd you think of it? I can still remember the first time I heard this piece. It was at a recital at my undergraduate university, and the girl that played was one of the (if not the) best in the keyboard program. After she played it, I thought "wow, I have no idea what that was, but it was AWESOME!" and I've been a Prok fan ever since.

-Daniel

Really enjoyed all three encores including the Prok - I always suspect that musicians play what *they* like best for the encores. I actually know next to nothing about Prok though he's on my list of things to get into when I have time this summer.

I just got back from Carnegie Hall and it was an excellent recital indeed.
I have to say that the first part was not the highlight. The Beethoven C minor variations were not rendered in any special way and the second piece by Widmann was klangy and did not get anywhere. Plus he was reading and turning pages for himself (which needs to be done very frequently) and I found that a bit distracting. Bronfman started to settle down well into the Faschingschwank and he rendered the last movement very beautifully. There were one or two minor mishaps in the first parts, if I am to trust my ears.
But after the intermission, things looked up dramatically. The Tchaikovsky sonata was magnificent. So angst ridden and crowded with contrasting themes and dizzying rythms. I really loved the third movement. Such masterful playing of the perpetuum mobile with a huge dynamic range and without any jarring fortes. He really outdid himself and finally looked satisfied.
The first encore was a Tchaikovsky antidote: Chopin's Nocturne in D-flat major. It was unusually spellbinding coming right after the stormy sonata. This was followed by (I think) a Transcendental Etude (in ?Eflat). BRILLIANT! The last encore was a Suggestion Diabolique indeed !
In conclusion, I can live another hundred years and not be able to master anything close to the rythmic mess that the Tchaikovsky sonata is.. Other than that, it was a fantastic recital.

For anyone interested, performances from a recital here in St Paul, MN, are available online from Minnesota Public Radio.

Program includes:
Schumann - Faschingsschwank aus Wien
Prokofiev - Sonata no 2 in D minor, op 14
Tchaikovsky - Sonata in G, op 37
Chopin - Nocturne in Db, op 27 #2
Liszt - Paganini Etude no 2

-Daniel

Oh no!!!

I have the ticket and forgot to go .. I was thinking all the time about it last week, and still I managed to forget yesterday!

Another reason I hate and no longer do the series tickets. I wasted hundereds of dollars already.

I did get to hear Radu Lupu, and next one is Pollini (god help me to remember!)

Wow! You forgot about the concert? To me concerts are like landmarks dates and I simply can't wait for the day to arrive. You, for sure, had better not forget about Pollini! That's one heck of a series, by the way (even if it only included those three).

I so sympathize. I plunked a good bunch of money for a pair of opera tickets to see Der Rosenkavalier with Renee Fleming and Susan Graham a couple of months ago. I had really good seats!! And I , idiotically, FORGOT!!!!! I could beat myself up for it!!

I am also seeing Pollini, but next month..

I saw Bronfman with the NY Phil last year playing Rachmaninoff's third, truly an incredibly powerful pianist.