Nadejda Vlaeva, piano
Merkin Concert Hall
December 10, 2009

The odds of hearing Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 1 in recital are rather slim (compared to the seventh, eighth, and others), but when a pianist combines it with the Piano Sonata No. 2 of Ukrainian-born Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877-1952), a composer whose works are seldom recorded or performed, one knows that an unusual musical mind is at work. Add the Variations on “Dilmano, Dilbero” Op. 2 by Alexander Vladigerov (1933-1993) and the World Premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Variations on a Theme of Schubert, Op. 100, and one has a unique evening to remember. That was what it was when Nadejda Vlaeva took the stage recently, offering also some of Liadov’s most beautiful Preludes (the D-flat, Op. 57, No. 1 and the B minor, Op. 11, No. 1) and the much more familiar Sonata “Après une Lecture du Dante” by Liszt.

Ms. Vlaeva showed throughout the evening that she has the intellectual and digital power to play anything she chooses. It was a joy to hear such effortless mastery, though at times things seemed a trifle too easy (revealing less of the involvement that sometimes redeems players of lesser gifts). Such facility may be what pushes Ms. Vlaeva towards the challenges of uncharted territory, but whatever the case may be, her forays are a refreshing break from the standard fare. Her Prokofiev illuminated phrases this listener had forgotten were there. Her sensitive interpretations of Liadov gently bridged Prokofiev and Bortkiewicz (both Liadov students).

This listener was not completely sold on the Bortkiewicz Sonata, which seemed a pastiche of other Romantics without a completely convincing cohesiveness; nonetheless, one has trouble imagining it played much better and will look forward to a second hearing. Ms. Vlaeva has recorded the work and given it its North American premiere.

Vladigerov’s syncopated Variations were a good antidote to this lush romanticism, and Liebermann’s excellent set of variations (commissioned for Ms. Vlaeva) brought Schubert’s “Heidenröslein” brilliantly and expressively into the twenty-first century.

After the Dante Sonata, as polished as expected, Ms. Vlaeva played three encores, Rebikov’s “Christmas Waltz,” Rebikov’s Musical Snuff Box, and Liszt’s “Les Cloches de Geneve.” Brava!

-Rorianne Schrade; New York Concert Review; New York, NY