![]() Indeed, not everything Laplante played on the Liszt section of the program, sounded “nice”, or respected the limits of what some pianists call “good sound”. His admirable conviction is reminiscent of that another virtuoso pianist who didn’t seem to care if his abandon caused a few sour notes, Vladimir Horowitz. Laplante attacked it without fear, launching himself whole-heartedly into the enormous chords, thundering octaves and a gale-force section of runaway scale passages. By turns introspective, wickedly difficult and bombastic to excess, this work is not for the faint of heart, whether you are sitting in the audience or on the piano bench. One can guess why: the Ballade contains every wonderful and detestable quality of a Liszt virtuoso character piece. 2 in B minor - a less frequently heard work than Funérailles, and the two selections from Années de pèlerinage that rounded off the Liszt portion of the concert. The most impressive part of the performance was Liszt’s Ballade n o. End-heavy, to put it mildly, but at least the evening finished with a bang. George’s Church in Montreal: The soft-spoken first half was entirely composed of works by Ravel (or almost, because Liszt’s Sonnetto del Petrarca was inserted before the intermission) while the second half featured three more large works by Liszt. There were some issues with programme balance in this first concert of the “Great Canadian Pianists” series at St. Contrasts dominated in André Laplante’s recital for the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, some coming off to great effect, and others less so. ![]()
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