A recital program consisting of Beethoven’s massive and expansive Diabelli Variations, combined with works by modern composers Knussen, Takemitsu, and Wuorinen, would seem to be incongruent and dissonant (apologies for the obvious double entendre). Yet, placed within the context of the respective eras, such an unlikely combination becomes more logical beyond how it appears on the surface. To pull off such a program, there’s perhaps no better pianist today than Peter Serkin, who played a recital Tuesday at UC Berkeley’s Hertz Hall.
The recital opened with Oliver Knussen’s Variations, Op. 24, composed for Serkin in 1989. Its theme is a variation on the work’s first six notes, painted with a calculated, poignant touch. The sustained low note evoked the Earth, above which textured notes were layered not only vertically but in distance, as well. Combined with the exacting flow of time, with changing colors distilled into each of the 12 variations, Serkin succeeded in creating a pristine, live landscape.
Tōru Takemitsu’s For Away was performed with a similar level of exacting precision and deliberation. It may perhaps be a terrible cliche, but I felt compelled to compare Serkin’s performance with a visit to a modern Japanese garden: not an centuries-old Zen garden, but more of an inorganic, ultramodern world outside the earthly biosphere. Closing the eyes, vivid colors were threaded together in the extraterrestrial space, while there was still a distinct sense of atmosphere and warmth. The last single note faded into nothing, leaving a void behind, as if a manmade explorer had vanished into the vast space.
Charles Wuorinen’s Adagio, composed in 2011, also for Serkin, followed. It continued the seriousness and determination of the previous works. Assembled from two intervals — perfect fifths and minor seconds — it projected atonal and distant intervals on top of a layer of tonal but often obscured harmony. At a quarter of an hour, the work was long-winded; however, the level of focus and intensity kept the piece together. Yet, for this first-time listener of the work, its structure was not obviously discernible, though I sensed fragments of stories being told. I simply closed my eyes and let the tonal colors dance and mingle, perhaps like the blobs of liquid in a multicolored lava lamp.
Stunning Contrast
After intermission, Serkin took a somewhat radical approach to the Beethoven Diabelli Variations, Op. 120, as if to equal the level of eccentricity and originality in the first half of the program. Rather than as a lighthearted, perhaps banal waltz, the theme was taken at a more angular, blocky rhythm, with nearly equal emphasis on every beat. The contrast between the opening notes in the right hand and the answer from the left hand was profound and stunning. There was again no question that every note was placed with precision, with unequalled intensity to maximize the impact.
Every note was placed with precision, with unequalled intensity to maximize the impact.
Serkin’s unorthodox reading continued. The first variation, a majestic march, was regal in its execution and gave a sense of a very special occasion. The subsequent variations maintained a similar level of calculated intensity. The brass ensemble–like fifth variation was light and humorous, yet the contrast in the 13th variation was extreme, and the answers in the piano dynamic were nearly inaudible. The humorous 22nd variation, borrowing from Mozart, was comical and ridiculous, eliciting quiet laughter from the otherwise well-behaved audience.
Perhaps the highlight of the variations was the fughetta, in which the atmosphere was absolutely ethereal. It was as if time had stopped, yet the threads of the theme were spun with well-defined colors. Another was the 28th variation, which was performed at an unreal velocity, yet whose athletic octaves were punched out with much bravado and force.
The recital’s focus may have been its own unorthodoxy, not just for its programming, but also because of Serkin’s original approach to a familiar work. Perhaps it was not what some in the audience expected to hear, though it was made for an unarguably thought-provoking evening, if not an entirely agreeable one.