"in search of... talented intellectual musicians!"

i am "in search of... [dashing] talented intellectual musicians!", i declared to f the other day... musing over the fact that i DO have an utterly deep soft-spot for such creatures. of course, f was adamant that such persons are very rare, indeed. i refused to be dissuaded... challenges are attractive in ways we know far too well; that the rewards are reaped with more enjoyment when sought with fiery passion.

i was really only embarking on my 'wee' mission, which germinated in my subconsciousness possibly since infancy... but i seem to have discovered one, not quite a week since i professed about it! not bad for progress, eh?

the musical knight is Yevgeny Sudbin, russian by birth, and a rising star in the world of piano soloists... his performance last sunday provided a refreshing musical discourse on the influences that modern composers derived from their predecessors. progressing through the baroque, to the classical and romantic eras... he introduced lesser-known post-romantic Scriabin's rather flamboyantly emotional sonatas... suffused with the quirks and idiosyncracies of Chopin's tenderness, the angst-ridden Beethoven, the folksie-rhythms of Liszt... and the romance of Rachmaninoff... mingled into a nearly modern classic-jazz fusion... utterly mind-blowing stuff.

i was also rather taken by the fact that Yevgeny reflected on the life and influences of the composers, who penned some of the technically challenging pieces he chose to perform... trying to appreciate their intentions... the experiences that shape their musical creativity, and his interpretations of those pieces that he studied and played... this added personal touch kind of bridges the distant formal communication of a concert programme and the actual performance... and it's certainly something quite positively refreshing.