Home / Arts and Entertainment / Leonskaja's Piano Masterclass: Old Meets New
Leonskaja's Piano Masterclass: Old Meets New
13 Mar
Summary
- Leonskaja connected diverse composers from Beethoven to Webern.
- Her playing revealed underlying architecture in the musical selections.
- Schubert's Sonata provided a substantial, complete closing statement.
Eighty-year-old pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja commanded the stage at Wigmore Hall with a program that spanned centuries and styles, from Beethoven to Webern. Her performance was characterized by expressive playing that uncovered the subtle architectural links between diverse composers. Leonskaja navigated works like Webern's Op 27 Variations and Schoenberg's 6 Little Piano Pieces with intricate precision.
She offered fresh perspectives on familiar pieces, emphasizing the thematic threads connecting them. The concert concluded with Schubert's substantial Piano Sonata in A minor D845, which provided a sense of completeness after the mosaic-like fragments of earlier works. Leonskaja's performance demonstrated a profound understanding of musical structure and emotional depth.
