Piano Peace

I first got aware of this event when I picked up a flyer for the Filfest 2010 Season that was available during the Chopin concert series. I admit that I wasn’t at all interested with the contents of the flyer at first because the concert venue, the Insular Life Theatre at Alabang, was too far south from where I live. So I just told myself why bother since it would be difficult for me to go and see concerts there.

But I still read what was inside the flyer while I was waiting for the show to start and the concert entitled Piano Peace got me curious. It’s no secret that concerts featuring pianists are what I really prefer compared to those that feature other instruments. And the distinction that the pianists featured in this concert were an interesting pair further fueled my interest. The pianists for the concert were Bishara Harouni and Yaron Kohlberg; the former is an Arab while the latter is a Jew. A pair like that performing in one concert is very rare so I told myself that I must get my gears turning so that I could catch this performance.

So I was glad that I was able to make it to the theatre to see this interesting pair. And right from the start they made a very good impression upon the audience when they appeared on stage wearing the Barong Tagalog. And the good impression continued as they played Dmitri Shostakovich’s Concertino for 2 Pianos in A Minor, Op. 94. I really like this piece since it’s a joy to hear and it has some passages reminiscent of some themes in Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 which is my favorite piece as of this moment. I knew that the show had just started but at the back of my mind, I felt the urge to practice at the soonest time possible.

Then it was Yaron’s turn to play. And he did please me since he played music by Frédéric Chopin. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I never grow tired of watching pianists play Chopin especially good pianists who can do his exquisite work justice. I can forgive Yaron for playing five out of the 24 Preludes from Op. 28 which is not my favorite Chopin piece to hear. But he made up for it by playing three etudes that are among my favorites: Etude Op. 10, No. 12, Etudes Op. 25, No. 5 and No. 11. I was absolutely glad that it somehow felt that this was a little extension of the Chopin concert series that I’ve enjoyed a month before this.

For the next piece, they played Franz Schubert’s Fantasia in F Minor for Four Hands, Op. 103. Since it’s a piece for four hands, they played side by side on just one piano and it was remarkable to see how well they work together. And it was during this piece when I was reminded that Yaron is Jewish and Bishara is Arab and there they were, playing side by side. It was very unlike what I normally see in the news and I hoped at that moment that this was how things should be in real life. And this was also the piece where I noticed how different their style and their personalities as they were playing. Yaron was more animated and grinned a lot at Bishara. And Bishara was more passive and reserved but he wasn’t overwhelmed at all by Yaron’s extroverted demeanor.

After this, it was Bishara’s time to do his solos and he started with Chopin’s Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52. It was a bit odd seeing him play this piece seated not on the usual piano bench, but on the typical chair with back support. But aside from that interesting choice of seat, Bishara’s Chopin was quite mesmerizing. He is a tall guy who might come of as intimidating at first glance but there was this tenderness and depth in his Chopin. And then he showed his intensity and power at the end of this piece. Then he changed the pace with his next piece: Franz Liszt’s La Campanella which is the more popular name for Etude No. 3 in G Sharp Minor from the Grandes etudes de Paganini. I normally associate music by Liszt as just fireworks showpieces but Bishara had a way of making it more than just that. Again, there was this delicate artistry which is beyond just showing technique.

For the last piece, the duo played Darius Milhaud’s Scaramouche which is a piece that is just plain fun for me. And the two of them definitely looked like they were having fun especially Yaron who dealt with humor the snags that he encountered with his piano and his inexperienced page turner who was one of the usherettes that night. Despite these minor problems, the duo played with such joy that left everybody in such high spirits. Proof of this was the wild applause from the audience who demanded an encore and the duo granted them with a reprise of the first movement of this piece.

Pianist Bishara Harouni

Pianist Yaron Kohlberg

Honestly, I thought that the programme for the night was a bit short and I was disappointed a bit that they didn’t give another encore performance. But in an amazing turn of events, my experience with these two pianists extended beyond the night of the concert. And what I experienced after was one of the most memorable moments that I’ve had recently. But this story merits a blog entry of its own.