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March 5, 2010
Music B3
The Epoch Times
Pianist Honors Chopin in Bicentennial Concert
Adam Neiman with the Fremont Symphony Orchestra
By EMAN ISADIAR
FREMONT, Calif.—It is unclear
whether the legendary composer
for the piano Frédéric François Chopin was born on Feb. 22, 1810, or a
week later on March 1. The Fremont
Symphony Orchestra presented the
internationally acclaimed pianist
Adam Neiman on the evening of
Saturday, Feb. 27—the approximate
halfway point between Chopin’s disputed birthdays—in a special recital
dominated by the Polish composer’s
works.
The performance also included
music by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev,
and by Adam Neiman himself.
Neiman proved to be an especially
gifted speaker, capable of communicating the musical highlights of
each piece equally well to the average concert-goer as well as to the aficionado. His introductions from the
stage primed the listener to follow
particular musical details that may
otherwise have gone unnoticed.
The first half of the concert was
dedicated entirely to Chopin’s
music—short single pieces, which
Neiman presented in pairs based on
tonality and character without pause
for applause.
The Prélude in C-sharp minor
of opus 45 was the concert-opener,
paired with the Barcarolle in F-sharp
major. Then followed the familiar
Waltz in C-sharp minor of opus 64
and the highly energetic Waltz in Aflat major. The passionate Nocturne
in C minor of opus 48 was presented
together with the lyrical Nocturne in F
major of opus 15. The F-minor Ballade
of opus 52—Chopin’s last—made a
worthy conclusion to a program meant
to honor the single most important
composer for the piano in history.
While Adam Neiman showed remarkable clarity in outlining the
musical contours with carefully mea-
Notes
on
Music
Epoch Times Staff
sured peaks and valleys, it was his
delicate pianissimo that left the audience breathless on multiple occasions
throughout the evening. He proved to
have a special knack for mining melodic gems buried deep in the elusive
middle voices. Neiman’s approach
to Chopin’s counterpoint bears the
unmistakable mark of an artist wellversed in the fugues of Bach.
Another remarkable quality in
Neiman’s playing was his ability to
raise Chopin’s smaller pieces, such
as the C-sharp minor Waltz, to the
same level of artistic merit as the
larger works on the program, like
the Barcarolle and the Ballade. The
same degree of painstaking musical
finesse was apparent in the miniature
pieces as in the epic works.
the two sergei’s and neiman
The second half of the program included works by two diametrically
opposed Russian contemporaries
named Sergei—Rachmaninoff and
Prokofiev. While Prokofiev sought to
provoke and shock with his inventive
harmonies and percussive rhythms,
Rachmaninoff continued the work of
composers in the preceding century
and brought his own brand of extreme romanticism. Both drew brutal criticism during their lifetimes,
and both changed the course of piano
writing forever. The Russian works
were separated by Adam Neiman’s
2004 composition entitled “Vision.”
Rachamaninoff’s “Etudes tableaux,” numbers eight, two, and one
(the French title implies studies in
tonal painting), offered a wide spectrum of the composer’s style and temperament. They also demonstrated
many more facets of Adam Neiman’s
playing, chief among them, his exceptional singing tone.
Following the Rachmaninoff,
Adam Neiman presented his own
work, which was apparently com-
posed for a PBS documentary. “Vision” is a hypnotic piece with a repeating harmonic pattern laden with
intricate finger work. Neiman made
no secret of his affinity for the movie
industry, and his ambition to pursue
a secondary career composing for
film. Judging by the sample included
in the program, composition is also
a highly promising career choice for
Adam Neiman.
Neiman made no
secret of his affinity
for the movie
industry, and his
ambition to pursue
a secondary career
composing for film.
The program ended with Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 2 of opus 14, which
Neiman infused with an impressive
array of emotions ranging from disdain to dread to triumph. Before playing the piece, Neiman divulged his
imaginary mascot for the third movement—an old Tolstoyesque exile to
Siberia with a long frozen beard dragging a ball and chain. Whether or not
Prokofiev had a similar image when
composing this movement, the world
shall never know. The music, however, was a perfect fit for the image.
Neiman reminded us that conjuring a visual image or a specific story
line for each piece is a valuable tool
in communicating its musical ideas:
Pianists of the world, take note!
The audience showed no hesitation
in offering a heartfelt standing ova-
tion, which Adam Neiman gracefully
reciprocated with an encore—the
Prélude in C from the Bach’s WellTempered Clavier.
For generations, pianists have been
taught to simulate the harpsichord
when playing the music of Bach, with
detached articulation and total avoidance of the pedal. Neiman, however,
made no such attempt. Au contraire,
he gave a highly “pianistic” interpretation, which was a refreshing break
from tradition.
Having played a program of Chopin with the clarity of Bach, Adam
Neiman now gave us Bach with the
sensitivity of Chopin. Clearly, here is
a man who does not merely play the
piano but has taken complete ownership of the instrument.
about adam neiman
Adam Neiman is no stranger to Fremont. Local music fans were first
dazzled by Adam Neiman in 1986
when the 9-year-old pianist won the
Ruth Tarr Award reserved for musicians under the age of 16 in the
Fremont Symphony’s Young Artist
Competition.
At 11, Neiman performed in Los
Angeles’ Royce Hall and made his European debut three years later in Germany at the Ivo Pogorelich Festival. At
age 15, he became the youngest winner of Italy’s Casagrande International
Piano Competition, and at 17, he was
the youngest musician ever to receive
the Gilmore Young Artist Award.
Neiman graduated from Juilliard
in 1999 with the prestigious Rubinstein Award.
Apart from Chopin’s bicentenary,
2010 also marks another musical
anniversary of particular interest to
Fremont.
Forty years ago, a gifted local pianist and winner of the Young Artist
competition of the Fremont Symphony—known at the time as the Fre-
ADAM NEIMAN: The Fremont Symphony Orchestra presented pianist Adam
Neiman in a special recital honoring Chopin’s 200th birthday.
courtesy of fremont symphony orchestra
mont Philharmonic—débuted with
the orchestra in Beethoven’s Fourth
Piano Concerto.
The pianist was Lea Neiman, none
other than Adam Neiman’s mother.
‘Classical Relief
for Haiti’
London’s classical musicians united
in an effort to raise funds for victims of the earthquake in Haiti by
recording the “Classical Relief for
Haiti” single, “The Prayer,” at the
Metropolis Studios in London, England, on Feb. 27.
Joining the Royal Philharmonic
Orchestra were Julian Lloyd Webber, Dame Evelyn Glennie, as well
as “Britiain’s Got Talent” stars Paul
(KPF+PPGT2GCEG
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Premiere
of
‘Emilie’
Potts and Faryl Smith to record
David Foster’s “The Prayer,” originally performed by Andrea Bocelli
and Céline Dion, according to U.K.
media
The single will be available for
downloading on March 14.
All proceeds will benefit the Disasters Emergency Committee.
LONDON ARTISTS: (L–R) Natasha Marsh, Karen England from OperaBabs, Tania
Davis from Bond, Julian Lloyd Webber, Rhydian Roberts, Eos Chater, Elspeth
Hanson, Gay-Yee Westerhoff of Bond, and Julian Smith.
christie goodwin/getty images
Cathedral
Turned
Concert
Hall
The largest church in North Africa
now hosts concert-goers instead of
worshippers.
Built in 1890 on top of Birsa
Hill, near ancient Punic ruins
and a Roman city, the cathedral
in Carthage was dedicated to St.
Louis of France (King Louis IX),
who died there in 1270 during the
siege of Tunis.
Until 1965, the cathedral was the
seat of the Archbishop of Carthage
and Primate of Africa and is now a
UNESCO World Heritage site.
Attracting thousands of classical
music lovers to Tunisia yearly, St.
Louis Cathedral in Carthage offers
three weeks of classical music performances each October.
The 250th anniversary of Johann Sebastian Bach’s death was
memorialized in 2007 with a performance by the Tunis Chamber
Orchestra.
Eman Isadiar teaches piano at the
Peninsula Conservatory and writes
about music in the San Francisco Bay
Area.
SAINT LOUIS CATHEDRAL: An old Roman Catholic cathedral located in Carthage,
Tunisia. fethi belaid/afp/getty images
The world premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s “Emilie,” a mono drama for a
solo soprano, will open March 1.
Composer Kaija Saariaho wrote
“Emilie” specifically for the brilliant Finnish soprano Karita Mattila. It was performed at the Lyon
Opera House in central France.
Set in 1749, the opera tells the
story of Emilie du Châtelet, one
of Voltaire’s lovers, who was a scientist, mathematician, physicist,
and astronomer. Her personality,
rich in contradictions, offered great
scope for the opera.
Many will remember Karita Mattila in “Manon Lescaut” live in
movie theatres in 2008. She was
named Musician of the Year 2005
by Musical America and as one of
the top 20 sopranos of the recording era by BBC Music Magazine.
“Emilie,” directed by Canadian
François Girard and conducted by
Japanese Kazushi Ono, will play
until March 13.
FINNISH SOPRANO: Karita Mattila
performs during a rehearsal of
“Emilie,” an opera by Kaija Saariaho
on Feb. 26.
philippe merle/afp/getty images