South Florida Classical Review

Simon Trpčeski performed Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Palm Beach Symphony Sunday at the Kravis Center. Photo: IndieHouse Films

When Sergei Prokofiev wrote his Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, he was around thirty years old and living in the West, attempting to shed his image as the enfant terrible of Russian music. For pianist Simon Trpčeski, the wild rhythms and harmonics of the composer’s early compositions were dominant as he played the concerto Sunday afternoon with the Palm Beach Symphony under Gerard Schwarz at the Kravis Center.

For sheer digital skill and command, Trpčeski is in a league of his own. No matter how fast the tempo, every note has clarity and is perfectly placed. Sometimes that kind of monster technique does not always fit the music’s profile. At the piano’s first entrance in the Prokofiev concerto, Trpčeski took off at a headlong clip. Volleys of notes were dispatched with aplomb and daredevil flair. There were moments when he lightened his touch and allowed tonal coloring to buttress his pianistic power. Schwarz and the highly responsive orchestra managed to keep up with the soloist.

The Macedonian pianist was at his most eccentric during the theme and variations of the Andantino. Fast sections were frantic, slow episodes stretched to extremes. Despite his quirky phrasing, the Allegro ma non troppo finale played to the pianist’s strengths—pounding power, showmanship, brio and flawless articulation. The totality of his reading proved rather exhausting but, undeniably exciting. Schwarz highlighted Prokofiev’s instrumental hues and felicities. In the finale’s lyrical central section, he drew silken sonority from the strings.

The program of music by Russian composers from the first four decades of the 20th century opened with Stravinsky’s Scherzo fantastique, Op. 3. Predating The Firebird, one can hear that ballet aborning in this 1903 work. The initial string figurations and blaring trumpet suggest Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice while the languid sections give more than a nod to Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky’s teacher. Schwarz emphasized the lush string writing of those lyrical interludes while bringing special clarity to the piquant wind parts.

Gerard Schwarz conducted the Palm Beach Symphony in music of Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich on Sunday. Photo: IndieHouse Films

While its provenance as either a capitulation to Soviet cultural orthodoxy or a clandestine protest against bureaucratic restrictions has been endlessly debated, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 in D minor remains one of the truly great symphonies of the twentieth century. The score is a Schwarz specialty and his performance on Sunday was calibrated for maximum impact.

Strong accents marked the opening Moderato movement. Over its long span, Schwarz kept the tension and drama intact, avoiding overheated exaggeration. Clarinet, flute and bassoon solos were outstanding. Brass registered firm impact, especially in the ominous motifs that turn into a grotesque march.

Schwarz brought out the sardonic humor of the Scherzo. Whether in unison flourishes or precise pizzicato, the ensemble’s strings were consistently excellent and Glen Basham’s violin solo was elegantly shaped. The Largo is the work’s throbbing heart. Taking a a deliberate tempo, Schwarz approached the movement’s emotional outpouring almost like chamber music with close attention to individual details.

The final Allegro ma non troppo emerged brisk and the surging secondary subject swept through the strings to sonorous effect. Schwarz built the crescendo near the conclusion in gradual layers to overwhelming effect. As he told the audience in preconcert remarks, the conductor led the coda slowly as Shostakovich wrote it and the climax was all the more powerful for that. The ovation that ensued was both inevitable and well- deserved.

Gerard Schwarz conducts the Palm Beach Symphony in Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 22 with Emanuel Ax and Holst’s The Planets, 3 p.m. May 17 at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. palmbeachsymphony.org

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