In Wednesday’s (1/16) Wall Street Journal, David Mermelstein writes, “Yefim Bronfman is well known as a fearless pianist for whom no score is too demanding. But a more poetic touch has lately complemented his brawny prowess. … In recent seasons, Brahms—whose music requires formidable technique and soulful expression—has been a near fixation. … Last week, Mr. Bronfman joined the Emerson String Quartet at New York’s Carnegie Hall for an all-Brahms program, and this week he partners with Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall in four performances of the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Then, on Jan. 30, he returns to a favorite venue, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, giving a solo recital featuring Brahms’s Third Sonata, Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 8, Schumann’s ‘Arabeske’ and the premiere of a new work by Esa-Pekka Salonen titled ‘Sisar.’ … ‘It’s important to have a second or third look,’ he said regarding scores he had performed previously. ‘Hopefully, you have a chance to do that. I picked up Prokofiev’s Eighth Sonata last year after not playing it for 20 years, and I see so much that I had not seen before. It’s like rereading a novel. When you’re 20, you can go through pages of things without really knowing what the author is trying to say. But then you go back, and suddenly you see the points.’ ”
Posted January 16, 2013
