Debra Li

    debra_lidan@163.com

    FOR the first time, Croatian pianist Ivo Pogorelich will stop in town and perform a recital for local audiences on his Chinese tour.

    Tuesday night he will play Chopin’s “Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38,” “Scherzo No. 3 in C-sharp Minor, Op. 39,” Schumann’s “Carnival Scenes From Vienna, Op. 26,” Mozart’s “Fantasia in C Minor, K. 475” and Rachmaninoff’s “Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 36.”

    Covering the works of great composers from the classical, romantic and modern periods in classical music, the program was carefully selected with each part combining to form one inspired vision. For example, the first half of the concert profiles works of Chopin and Schumann, while Chopin’s “Ballade No. 2” was dedicated to Schumann. In the second half, the Mozart fantasia, as Pogorelich sees it, is a revolutionary piece given the epoch it was written in. “In its structure and form, it has ideas that became developed in the future,” the pianist said. “The fantasia can be considered very modern even by today’s standards.” Similarly, Rachmaninoff’s sonata is a complex and demanding piece, also revolutionary because of its monothematic nature.

    Born in Belgrade in 1958, Pogorelich studied with the renowned pianist and teacher Aliza Kezeradze, whom he later married. She was able to transmit the spirit and substance of the school of Beethoven and Liszt, which originated in Vienna and then was carried on by the Conservatory of St. Petersburg, which flourished toward the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

    While proud to be a pupil of the Liszt school, Pogorelich however said he doesn’t have a preference for composers. “I like them all the same when I play them and I am very faithful and loyal to the composer that I am playing at the moment.”

    About his contemporary pianists, he said he was not in the position to judge them because he “doesn’t go to concerts often.”

    The genius proclaimed by Martha Argerich and exclusive artist of Deutsche Grammophon is a controversial figure with critics, especially Americans, whom he doesn’t seem to care much about.

    “I do not read critics,” he said. “But I can imagine that there could be a difference that comes from everyday life, because everyday life is very different in Europe from that in the United States, and I can imagine that people are enjoying the music in different ways, that’s why they write about it differently.”

    Rigorous about every piece he plays, he tries to be 100 percent faithful to the composer. Pogorelich would study the music for some time, then ponder on it before he actually started to practice a new piece. “Each year, I learn some new pieces and also combine them with those I’ve played before,” he said.

    The master doesn’t teach, for teaching is very time and effort-consuming and a good teacher “cannot combine concerts with teaching on the same level of intensity.” However, he advises piano students to focus on music, “work hard” and “not to be jealous.”