OVERALL NOISE RATING: 2 (Well-behaved crowd - unfortunately I have this recurring fortune to sit next to the only misbehaving person in the crowd - who burped, snored and told me she classical music was Greek to her. Why bother to turn up? Especially when you have $100-tickets - go give it to someone more interested, PLEASE.)

The Noise Rating Index is a partially-objective measurement of pager and handphone blasts, 9pm and 10pm watch beeps, coughing-during-the-pianissimo-bits, intra-audience conversation and other mind-bogglingly inept noises emitted in the concert hall during actual performance of music. It is measured on a scale of 0 to 5, in increasing annoyance.

This review has been kindly sponsored by the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Thanks, Sharon!

This is the third time I am listening to Lazar(e) Berman 'live' and I must say it was an experience to behold. There is always something to learn from his playing, even just by watching him. Listening to him is a totally different experience in itself. In a dream concert of the complete set of Moments Musicaux, op.16 by Rachmaninov (mind you, for he has been accorded the most appreciative honours by the Rachmaninov Society, stating that his recording of these works is the best ever) and six Chopin Polonaises, I have to admit I was eagerly awaiting to hear him from the moment the advertisement came out in March this year.

Having played the piano for the last 67 years - he is now 69 years old - Berman is a member of a rare breed of pianists. While his whole 'gang' of Gilels, Horowitz, Richter, Serkin and Arrau (no less) have all moved on, he is the last of the living legends that this world has to offer - and cherish.

The Moments Musicaux ("Musical Moments") is made up of six short pieces of varied tempi, each alternating between slow and fast but all with different and distinct attributes. From the initial opening chords, Berman's world-class stature was instantly revealed and while he did make some slips (who cares - he is human after all), Berman totally mesmerised me with his beautiful tone and varied colors. These pieces have been played by many a great pianist - what distinguishes Berman greatly is his colours. One has to play the piano to realise and appreciate that every pedal marking Berman takes is not only thoroughly thought-out but released with a certain but appropriate amount of passion and clarity.

He was able to do a few things I consider virtually impossible - that of clearly using the pedal to bring the sound from forte to pianissimo and returning to forte with ease. Berman and Jorg Bolet have often talked about learning pedalling for up to 15 years - I now truly understand exactly what they mean.

The pace in the Andantino was never at any point rushed and while I have heard so many pianists having this tendency to run off with Rachmaninov, Berman seemed to want to show the intensity of each note, each skillfully sculpted. Everything is so evocative of that innate spirit which he possesses - I found everything Berman did simply breathtaking.

The Allegretto is quite reminiscent of some of Rachmaninov's faster preludes, from op.23 and op.32, which allows both hands to play separately yet together forming a single unit. Once again there was the power of Berman's ascending and descending runs in the left hand - all clearly executed with crescendo and decrescendo. One has to follow him on score to appreciate his phenomenal understanding and faithfulness to the music, the clarity with which he extracts from the score. Truly, Berman shows how it really pays to master the centre pedal to produce these effects.

While many a modern pianist would opt to lift their hands to get the 'effects', Lazar Berman is glued to his chair with fingers always on the keyboard. With innate strength alone, he reaches from the body into the keyboard, sending each note all the way back to the end of the hall.

Even marcato and staccato chords are clearly differentiated, as seen in the Andante and Adagio passages, which in the hands of other pianists are likely to be pedantic and mundane. What made me enjoy his readings of these short pieces were the tempi in which he took them - they were never rushed at any point and this brought out the balance and excitement in the music. There is so much depth in these pieces, so much meaning which I hardly imagined prior to the concert; but hearing them in his hands has brought for me a much greater appreciation for Rachmaninov and for Berman as well.

Anther distinct area which makes Berman stand out is his understanding of chordic display - he shows and expresses differently in the compositions of each composer in this concert. For Rachmaninov, the inner voice with single notes has to be brought out as the main melody line and this was done with ease and depth of tone. I especially loved the closing piece, the Maestoso, which really showcased his technique; watching Berman from the circle seats (my deepest gratitude to NAFA) was an even a greater treat - Rachmaninov uses the thumb to bring out single melody lines with the balance of four fingers filling in. However these are not just mere gaps to be filled up - but imbued with passion. The pianist is made to really work - the dexterity required would make the best of the best quiver at the enormous difficulties. But Berman was here today.

The second half saw the famous six Polonaises by Chopin. Berman did look rather tired as compared to the first half, and this manifested in what appeared to be short lapses in memory and at times some smudgy pedaling; but this can be totally forgiven. Some of the endings to the Polonaises seemed rather abrupt, with a forte staccato which to me seemed rather odd. I have never really liked the Polonaises in comparison to Chopin's Études, Nocturnes or Préludes, but after hearing Berman play them, I have started to look at them in new light - there is rarely any better reason for attending a concert.

Most of the Polonaises are rather long, averaging 7 minutes apiece (most of Chopin's works are just a minute or two) yet one does not get bored listening to Berman play the whole set in its entirety. His arpeggio-playing and chordic strength was always powerfully exuded - for a while there I thought the grand piano was actually wired up with a microphone.

The Polonaises are not mere dances but those which depict a certain sense of nationalism, especially seen in the light of Russia's control over Poland. The irony is that Lazar Berman, a Russian, plays Polish music and understands it as if he was Polish (mind you, at one stage in his career he was barred from playing in the West in the early 1970s - this could well be the reason why he has an affection for these Polonaises.)

The most famous of the six Polonaises, which has become a signature tune for Chopin, is his Polonaise in A-flat, op.53, nicknamed the "Polonaise Heroique". From the start to the end there is no letting up and Berman clearly displayed his prodigious technique by playing with both anguish and bewilderment. I have this particular CD (on DG Galleria 449 090-2) where he can be heard in the same music, but no doubt a 'live' performance always gives you that sense of atmospheric nirvana which a recording cannot achieve.

For his encores Berman (right) picked two different composers which he has been associated with: Scriabin - the Étude, op.8 no.11; and Franz Liszt's "Susum Corda" from the Years of Pilgrimage (3rd Year). The first is a slow introspective piece which is by no means easy to play, Scriabin's music being notably devilishly difficult even though it may be marked "Lento" or "Adagio" as in this Étude. His deep concentration and well-thought pauses only made the crowd call for another encore.

While I have had the privilege of hearing him play the second encore in his last performance here in Singapore, it was still a breathtaking experience to hear him again. There is a always a fresh vigour in his playing - in works with dark brooding chords especially, they become a magical experience.

This concert has indeed been a total triumph and I do hope that NAFA continues to bring in world-class players such as Lazar Berman. Undoubtedly he will and has inspired others to pursue their art form to the best of their ability.

Click here for another review by Soo Kian Hing

Johann D'Souza wants to know what music Einstein listened to while in his mother's womb - he still doesn't believe that listening to Mahler makes people manic depressive.

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484: 19.5.1999 ©Johann D'Souza

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