As Perahia shuffled unto to the stage, we expected an intensely introverted concert, and, at least in part, that is what we got. He started Bach's Ouverture No.3 in D major with huge groping movements on the keyboard. The first movement of the piece was played with a celebratory, overdone air with an unsteady rhythm making it sound a bit slushy, but in the faster 9/8 part, his hands were reined in and we heard exciting, extraordinarily pure, well-phrased musicality.
We were brought again to another world by Perahia's performance of Beethoven's Sonata in D major (op. 28). It was full of color, and every second was well thought out, but the performance was at the same time completely natural.
In the second half of the programme, Perahia played Brahms' Six Pieces for Piano (op. 118). The piece sounded like the announcement of a deep depression. And this is how the programme could have ended, but Perahia sought to resolve the mood and completed the performance with two etudes and a ballad by Chopin.
Author: András Csont
