Kahane works his magic

From The Register-Guard
By James Bash

Jeffrey Kahane displayed supreme artistic control and vision doubling as the conductor and pianist in an all-Mozart concert for the Bach Festival at the Hult Center on Sunday.

The program consisted of Mozart's piano concertos No. 21 and No. 23, and his Symphony No. 40, all of which are beautiful yet familiar pieces that can easily fall into routine, dull performances. But that was not the case with Kahane and the Festival Orchestra.

Whether he conducted from the keyboard of a 9-foot Fazioli piano or from the podium, Kahane gave crisp, articulate directions to the orchestra, inspiring the musicians with fresh, committed playing that sparkled.

The concert began with Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, which Mozart finished composing in 1786 at the ripe age of 30. Kahane stood at the piano to conduct the initial measures before sitting down to play the first of many passages with graceful and eloquent phrasing that the orchestra matched almost perfectly.

I've read that some pianists complain of Faziolis having a harsh sound, but that that was not the case here as Kahane milked a mile of crystal-pure tone from this amazing instrument, caressing each note with intelligence and sensitivity.

Kahane chose to conduct the next piece, Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor, without a baton, relying on sharp, angular commands with his hands to convey the conflicting moods and emotions of this brilliant work that Mozart wrote in 1788. Especially impressive were some varied tempo changes within passages that kept everyone on their toes. Although the sound from the cellos unexpectedly and briefly clashed in the third movement, the entire ensemble played with terrific feeling and depth, and the final movement, heightened with a quick tempo, arrived at the end with panache.

After intermission, Kahane again led the orchestra from the piano in a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major (composed in 1785). It's a delight to watch Kahane play a trill with his right hand and at the same time conduct the orchestra with his left. But the highlight reel from this piece occurred when the orchestra twice stopped playing altogether, leaving Kahane to improvise twice from the keyboard. So Kahane created some music on the spot - just as Mozart intended.

The first of these cadenzas (in the first movement) was an exceptionally busy one with Kahane's hands flying all over the keyboard. The second cadenza (in the third movement) was briefer, more restrained, and nicely tied into the musical theme from the first movement.

The famously soothing melody in the second movement started with a satiny smooth sound from the orchestra that caused audience members to melt in their seats. It is remarkable that Kahane has such a deft touch that he could play notes at a super-soft level when needed, just barely audible above the orchestra's light accompaniment. That sound was magical.

It's very cool when any pianist as gifted as Kahane can pull double duty in a demanding program like this one. The temptation is that the conductor/pianist can pull all of the attention to himself. Fortunately, Kahane possesses the musicianship to take music to the highest levels and make it sound natural and enchanting. Mozart, if he were alive today, at age 250, would have approved wholeheartedly.