South Florida Classical Review

Carter Johnson performed a recital for the Miami International Piano Festival Saturday night in Miami Beach. Photo: Ralph Lauer/ Van Cliburn Competition

Carter Johnson was a finalist in the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. And though he was not awarded one of the top three prizes, many listeners were impressed by his playing.

The Canadian pianist fully confirmed that view in a recital presented by the Miami International Piano Festival Saturday night at the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach. Johnson’s cannily chosen program contrasted early Beethoven with character pieces by Debussy and  Prokofiev as prelude to a Schumann masterpiece. Throughout this diverse menu, Johnson exhibited well-honed technique and mature artistry. Plus, his knowledgeable, witty and urbane commentary proved both personable and enlightening.

The quirky rhythms of Debussy’s “pour les “cinq doigts” (for five fingers) from his Etudes offered an effusive opener, rendered with technical agility and deft articulation. Four Debussy Preludes displayed the varied hues of Johnson’s pianism. He projected the striking modernity of “General Lavine-eccentric,” a portrait of a vaudeville juggler, with a wide range of dynamics and effervescent spirit. The Spanish atmosphere of “La serenade interromptue” was astutely conveyed. Johnson brought a nicely poetic touch to the spare thematic threads of “Canope.” He spun the mood painting in “Masques” with both fire and delicacy. A prize winner in the Honens, Dublin and Gina Bachauer competitions, Johnson’s performance of Debussy’s tricky vignettes definitely displayed top competition standards.

The Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp Major represents Beethoven at his most joyous and optimistic. In the first of the brief score’s two movements, Johnson’s beauty of tone and strong lyrical spirit was matched by a fine sense of proportion and structure. The fleetly paced second movement resounded with vigor. Despite his speedy tempo, every note and bar was well placed and clear.

A set of Prokofiev vignettes leaned into Johnson’s more overtly bravura side. The Scherzo from Six Pieces, Op. 52, sounded appropriately wild and unbridled. Three pieces from Visions fugitives, Op. 22 ranged from a beautiful, long spun arc of “Poetico” to the fierce martial strains of “Feroce” and the restless and agitated undercurrents beneath the calm surface of “Dolente,” all evoked pungently by Johnson. “Suggestion diabolique,” a macabre virtuosic showpiece, emerged with big- boned energy.

Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze (Dances of the League of David) is a suite of dances that mix  the musical personalities of the composer’s two mythical characters – Eusebius and Florestan. 

In the course of the work’s 35-minute duration, Johnson fully projected the passionate understatement of Eusebius and the impetuous volatility of Florestan. He avoided the exaggerated overemphasis of fast and slow sections that can render some readings of Schumann’s large scale cycles incoherent and schizophrenic. The lilt of the opening waltz-like episode beguiled the ear while the succeeding songful vignette sounded warm and sensitive under Johnson’s fingers. Soft, tender melodic moments alternated with heaven-storming volleys across the span of the keyboard. Even at its most emphatic, Johnson’s iteration was distinguished by sensitivity and carefully calibrated sonority. The spacious, expressive epilogue capped a strongly felt, vividly personal rendition of a keyboard landmark.

A standing ovation brought Johnson back for a perfectly chosen encore – an exquisitely stated version of Debussy’s “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair.” Carter Johnson is an artist one wants to hear more from.

The Miami International Piano Festival presents Jonas Aumiller 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach. The program includes Chopin’s Prelude in C-sharp minor, Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Impromptu in F-sharp Major and Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor; Brahms’ Six Pieces; and Aumiller’s transcription of Liszt’s Les Préludes.   miamipianofest.com

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