Pavel Kolesnikov dazzles with the “Goldberg” Variations in JS Bach’s Severance recital

CLEVELAND, Ohio — When Balthasar Schmid published his “Keyboard Exercises, Consisting of an ARIA with Variations for Two-Manual Harpsichord” in Nuremberg in 1741, Johann Sebastian Bach noted in his preface that the work was composed “for connoisseurs, to stir their spirits.”

Whether or not the crowd in the Reinberger Chamber Hall at the Severance Music Center on Tuesday, September 24, considered themselves masters, the thunderous applause at the end of Pavel Kolesnikov’s 75-minute program showed that their spirits were certainly refreshed, even deeply moved, by the composer’s genius and the pianist’s mesmerizing performance of the Variations.

Before the opening of this season In the Severance in Recital series, Kolesnikov told the audience in a charmingly self-effacing talk that he could talk for hours about the architecture of the Variations and the alchemy of Bach’s counterpoint. And although he wasn’t much of a talker before playing this piece, he said, “I couldn’t help but come to Cleveland for the first time and say hello.”

He stated that the work was born from silence and eventually sank into silence, and said, “I hope you enjoy the developments in between.”

Between the opening Aria and its reappearance at the end, Bach uses the bass line to create 30 variations, divided into 10 sets. The third in each set contains a canon with increasing intervals—it’s the alchemy of counterpoint—while the other two explore a wide range of Baroque forms, including a French overture right in the middle.

If you’re an expert, this is fun to know, but the composer carries his knowledge lightly, never letting the rigidity of the counterpoint get in the way of the music. To do Bach’s preface suggests what should be known, calling for a harpsichord with two manuals. In several variations, he writes diagonal lines between the hands, creating complications that must be resolved for the piano’s single keyboard.

In this dynamic musical journey, Kolesnikov created an otherworldly ambiance at the Reinberger, aided by dim lighting that left the pianist in the isolated beam of a single overhead spotlight, inviting the listener to inhabit his mind for the duration of a performance that was more mental than physical.

Technically speaking, Kolesnikov used playing styles specific to the piano rather than transferring harpsichord techniques to the later instrument. His extremely slow tempos in some variations acknowledged the piano’s ability to allow the strings to resonate longer rather than tinge when struck, and groups of fast notes that had melodic roles on the harpsichord became pulsed movements on the piano.

And the pianist used his instrument’s ability to vary the volume and character of the attacks, at times strikingly extracting single notes from the texture. Late in the piece, isolated bass notes created an explosive effect.

Using another technique favored by pianists such as Robert Schumann, Kolesnikov held down the damper pedal in several variations, causing the notes to float in a miasma.

The pianist played with perfect articulation, carefully balancing the melodic lines, never forgetting that this music grows from the bass line upwards, and without restricting its dynamic range. strengths it has become really important.

All this left the audience so breathless and so completely involved that they sat with their arms crossed long after the last notes of the final Aria had faded away.

Daniel Hathaway is the founder and editor of the online magazine ClevelandClassical.com. He teaches music journalism at Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music.