Review: Star pianist and enthusiastic ensemble bring Grieg to life
Perhaps the only concert more enjoyable than a solo piano recital by Nikita Lukinov would be Nikita playing Grieg’s beautiful piano concerto with a large string ensemble.
On Sunday afternoon the packed Festival Drayton Centre audience got both and it went down a treat. Nikita opened his solo first half with his first public performance of Anatoly Lyadov’s Prelude No 1. He described it as ‘crafted with great precision’ and dedicated it – on International Women’s Day – to all the women in the audience. It proved to be an intimate, perfect gem, both fragile and strong, and Nikita gave it to his audience like the gift it was.
Next he played Scriabin’s Fantasy Op 28 which portrayed, as Nikita put it, ‘Scriabin’s struggle between tonal and sane, atonal and insane.’ His playing balanced nuance with drama, ranging over a wide spectrum of emotions, his deep feeling for the music well served by his ability to communicate it.
Three Songs Without Words by Stanchinsky, introduced as ‘simple and dark’, were played with such attention and respect, their beautifully expressive melodies touched the heart.
Nikita completed the first, all-Russian, half of the programme with excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty arranged by Mikhail Pletnev. They were crowd pleasers for sure and called for technical bravado at the keyboard – though no more so than any of the less familiar pieces which preceded them.
After the interval Nikita was joined by seven string players based at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, ably led by Ukrainian violinist Bohadan Ilnytskyi. Grieg’s hugely romantic piano concerto, written when the composer was only 24, had proved instantly popular and has remained so ever since. It was ideally suited to this ensemble of relatively young, enthusiastic players who complemented Nikita’s dramatic piano well.
Every part abounded in lyrical richness and there was much to enjoy throughout. The first movement, with its bold opening and a fine piano solo towards the end, grabbed and then held attention every step of the way. In the second movement, with its ravishing main theme, the nerves fairly tingled. The third, dance-based, movement was played with an accomplished jauntiness full of brightness and hope.
Called back for an encore, Nikita doubled down on the smiles and sent the audience on its way with the delightful étude Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf by Rachmaninov.
By John Hargreaves
