Date: Fri 11-Oct-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Illustration: C

Location: A11

Quick Words:

NF0M-Hecht-Shapiro-Edmond

Full Text:

(rev dual pianists Sandra Shapiro & Thomas Hecht @NFoM, 10/11/96)

Concert Review-

NFoM Begins Season With A Work Of Art

BY JUNE APRIL

Envision walking into a dimly lit room and seeing a beautiful piece of

artwork. Suddenly the lights are turned on and you gasp because it is so much

more exquisite than your first glance.

This kind of illumination is one way of explaining, in visual terms, the

impact of the opening concert of the Newtown Friends of Music's 1996-97

season, last Sunday afternoon at Edmond Town Hall. Duo pianists Sandra Shapiro

and Thomas Hecht created a tapestry of music rich in color and tone, and in

spirit... brilliant.

If there is a resurgence of the Golden Age of Duo Pianists, it will be in

large measure because of the sparkling artistry and musical integrity of these

two young people. Enthusiastic acclaim and numerous awards testify to their

talents. They truly are one of the most sought-after piano teams around. It is

very much to the credit of the Newtown Friends of Music that this was the

second appearance of this duo, and it heralds a fabulous 1996-97 season.

The pianists said they were particularly pleased to be performing in Newtown

again. Both Ms Shapiro and Mr Hecht agreed they appreciated the more intimate

ambiance of Edmond Town Hall, and the opportunity of meeting with the audience

after the concert.

It was a spectacular and lyrical program October 6, beginning with Copland and

ending with Liszt.

That's not quite accurate. There was a delicious encore that closed the

concert: It was the first of the "Danses Andalouses" by the Spanish composer

Manual Infante (also a conductor and pianist). This is the first offering of

the duo's compact disc, entitled Sentimiento . The final piece on the same CD

is Liszt's "Reminiscences de Don Juan," which they played, no... with which

they dazzled the Newtown audience. (A third compact disc in scheduled for a

May release on the Brioso label.)

The second presentation was a six-segment composition by Robert Schumann

entitled "Pictures From the East." In this romantic and lyrical music the

pedal used was sublimely managed so as to carry over the tones, without

producing a maudlin effect. The range of contrast of legato, syncopation and

interesting harmonies even captured the attention of some young children.

Sergei Rachmaninoff drew from the strongly nationalistic heritage of the great

Russian composer Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakov. That same mystical and wonderfully

hypnotic music like the beautiful symphonic suite Scherezade is richly echoed

in the Russian Rhapsody Shapiro and Hecht played as the final piece in the

first half of the program. Their playing was sensational. The program could

have ended at that point and the audience would have gone, thrilled and

elated.

The second half was no less glorious. Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole was treated

in a different mood - more provocative - in the spirit of the Spanish

sensuality one thinks of as the essence of Carmen .

Then there was Liszt. Franz Liszt (1811-1886), who thrilled audiences with his

virtuosity as pianist and composer in his time, still stands as one of the

paradigms in the world of keyboard artistry.

Liszt would have been very pleased with the performance of his transcription

of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni by Shapiro and Hecht. Capturing the more

dramatic aspects of the opera on the piano, "Reminiscences de Don Juan"

brought the Newtown audience to its feet in wild applause, justly deserved.

Now and again one experiences musical events like this one. Using the

definition "an event is an occurrence of significance," this reviewer feels

justified in applying that term to the October 6 concert.

Subscriptions can still be purchased by calling 426-6470, or by purchasing

series or single tickets at the next NFoM program: The Bretano Quartet,

Sunday, November 3.