Good Afternoon! Good Evening!
Well, once I got to the box office window at Carnegie Hall, the women behind the window informed me that all they had left were obstructed view seats. Hmm... Well, I said, OK. Then she noticed that she could get me an obstructed view seat in the Second Tier instead of in the top balcony, so, I took it. And, boy, was I glad I did!
I ended up in Box 60, which is house left, and close to the stage. And, as it turned out, I basically ended up right behind Maurizio Pollini's right shoulder. And since the "piano nerd" is still very much alive in me, it was a perfect seat. I had a great view of the piano keyboard, and of Mr. Pollini's hands. And even the seats were comfortable - they were basically raised stools. And as for being "obstructed view", well, the only real obstruction was the woman sitting in front of me, but once I adjusted my chair, I had a very clear view of the stage.
The program was wonderful. An all Chopin first half, and Debussy and Boulez in the second half. And it turned out to be the Second Book of the Debussy Etudes he was playing, not the Preludes - I guess I misread the listing. The Etudes are some of my favorite pieces.
All in all, it was a very satisfying program. Mr. Pollini's playing has been labeled "aristocratic" by many people. For some people that's a plus, for others that's a minus. Some people appreciate the reserve in his playing, others wish for some more fire and color. For today's program, I thought it was just right. His virtuosity is unquestionable, but he never shows off. It all seems very easy for him. But the music-making was very good. Very good.
As I had suspected, a bunch of audience members bailed before - and during(!) - the Boulez Second Piano Sonata. I will admit that it's not a "tuneful" score, but I've always appreciated it's compositional structure, and the demands it makes on the pianists technique and imagination. -And having a bird's eye view of Mr. Pollini's hands as they navigated the keyboard was awesome.
And after he finished the Boulez, he treated the audience to five(!) encores, one of which was another Chopin Ballade (the G minor) - most definitely not a "little post-recital ditty". He was very generous.
And then came the CD signing...
