Search - Frederic Chopin, Maurice Ravel, Sebastian Currier :: Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Sa Chen, Crystal Award

With a Little More Concentration and Stamina, and she will g

A. F. S. Mui | HK | 08/15/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Miss Chen Sa is the protege of veteran Chinese pianist F'ou T'song while studying in Britain, and learned pianoforte under the same teacher as Yundi Li in China - Mr. Dan Zhaoyi. She only took 3rd place in the 12th Van Cliburn Competition in 2005...

Miss Chen made a terrible blunder in the outer rounds of this marathon competition - memory problem, so vital to a top-notch performer. While the blunder wasn't noticeable to the general audience, the adjudicators were painfully aware.

This disc presents her live recital in that same competition, and judging solely from the performance of this disc, I for one would gladly offer her the second place in Joyce Yang's stead!

The Op. 58 Chopin Sonata is beautifully performed. It has more warmth and depth than, say, Yundi Li's own version on DG, and a trifle more finesse than Lang Lang's, also on DG. It certainly is a more mature reading than her two younger compatriots, especially Li.

Her Ravel is simply ravishing. I would say, even better than 'big guns' like Ivo Pogorelich's reading. The touching is of crytalline beauty and the tone colour devastating, and the nuances perfectly in sync with the score. What character, what soul!

The latter pieces in this recital, however, do not quite measure up to the two opening works. The 'contemporary work' is well-played, but not brilliant. Like Joyce Yang, the Liszt piece tends to tilt towards the other end, and has an almost boisterous and mechanical drumming in the bass part in certain places that are a bit disconcerting. THe last Etude shows that Miss Chen's strength lies in warm, beautiful touching and not nimble finger pyrotechnique.

Having heard Miss Chen Sa live in concert recently (wherein she played a glaring wrong note), this young pianist clearly would fare much much better with more concentration and experience. She has got all the potentials for a great pianist, and is off at a good start. It remains to be seen how she works at developing them."