By Tony Magee
Polish pianist
Lucas Krupinski masterfully delivered a superb program of Chopin, Scriabin and
Brahms at the Wesley Music Centre. Showcasing a dazzling technique, the pianist
also played the entire program from memory.
The packed house
included His Excellency Michel Goffin, Ambassador of Belgium.
Opening with the
Polonaise in C-sharp minor, Op. 26 No. 1 by Chopin, the young Krupinski
commenced with a grandiose flourish of chords which melded into beautiful
melodic phrases of rubato, played with great feeling and passion with superb
tone production.
The piece then
featured a thick chordal structure played in double forte, contrasted with
softer melodic passages. Left hand melody was brought out beautifully later in
the piece.
Lucas Krupinski has
been a featured soloist all around the world including Carnegie Hall New York,
the Royal Albert Hall London and Wigmore Hall London, as well as numerous European venues including his native Poland.
He is the winner
of many major piano competitions including all prizes at the 7th San
Marino International Piano Competition, the Chopin Geselschaft in Hannover,
Aachen, Goerlitz, and the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe.
His debut album
Espressione was nominated for the International Classical Music Awards in 2018,
alongside albums by Kristian Zimmerman and Evgeny Kissen.
He has been
honoured with a commemorative medal from the Frederick Chopin University of
Music in recognition of his artistic achievements.
Since 2023 he has
been a member of the Penderecki Trio.
Continuing with
the Nocturne in F Major, Op. 15 No. 1 by Chopin, Krupinski delivered beautiful,
sensitive and lyrical phrasing in the opening passages. The middle section was
of almost Lisztian proportions including dramatic cascading bass runs, played
by Krupinski in the bravura style. This was exciting and expressive
playing, full of flair, spirit and panache before dwindling into a
delicate pianissimo finale.
Chopin’s Scherzo
in B-flat minor, Op. 31 followed. This is a more substantial work with a bold
entry followed by glittering, cascading treble runs. Krupinski handled all this
superbly. Later in the work he savoured the opportunity to enrapture the
audience with beautiful, thoughtful and reflective playing.
Scriabin composed
his Fantasie in B minor, Op. 28 in 1900. Astonishingly, Scriabin had no
recollection of even composing the piece when he heard it performed at a
musical soirée the following year.
A dramatic and
complex work, Krupinski delivered it with authority and command, beginning with
a somewhat ambiguous, open harmony with a descending bassline and
a melody which alternately moved upwards and then plunged dramatically down in
jagged gestures.
This brooding
opening gave way to one of Scriabin's most beautiful melodies with Krupibski
capturing the cantabile style of writing beautifully.
After a short break, Krupinski returned to the stage
to play the massive 35 minute Piano Sonata in F minor by Brahms.
Composed in 1853, when the composer was just over 20
years old, the work is dedicated to Countess Ida von Hohenthal of Leipzig.
In five sections covering the full range of dynamics
and the full keyboard, the opening motifs were bold, followed by majestic high
octave cadence points.
The second movement was gentle and reflective, with
Krupinski bringing forth lyrical and cantabile phrases.
The opening section of the bouncy third movement was
played with flair and conviction. In triple time, the piece is later contrasted
with phrases of an almost comic and cheeky nature.
Krupinski captured the gentle question and answer
motifs which characterise the opening of the fourth movement, before revealing
the fifth and final movement in rondo form in the home key of F minor. The
pianist explored the many musical ideas that become intertwined in this
virtuosic and triumphant section, once again showcasing his penchant for
bravura playing, something he does so well.
Deafening and sustained applause followed, the
audience enticing Krupinski back for an encore, Chopin’s Waltz in C sharp
minor.
Throughout the concert, the audience was treated to
seventy minutes of world class playing from this wonderfully talented pianist.
It is a credit to the Wesley Music Centre that they are able to engage artists
of this calibre.
