Boston Classical Review

Mao Fujita performed Thursday night at Pickman Hall for Vivo Performing Arts. Photo: Johanna Berghorn/Sony Music

Already established as a fine interpreter of Classical and Romantic repertoire with his Sony recordings, pianist Mao Fujita made his Boston recital debut with Vivo Performing Arts to a packed house in Pickman Hall at the Longy School of Music on Thursday evening. 

He may be new to Boston, but the brilliance and range of sound he displayed here surely deserve a far wider audience; Fujita will make his Boston Symphony debut in April.

Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor is distinctly Classical in its influences, with Haydn and Mozart heard in both gesture and form. Here Fujita demonstrated a rounded clarity of sound reminiscent of pearls along a string and finely etched articulation that illuminated the elegant lines. The sweet Adagio felt a touch brisk but still flowed naturally, silky threads interweaving well-phrased melodies. The third movement was notable for its lightness and Baroque-inflected subtle detailing.

In the final Prestissimo, hints of Romantic drama emerged, with the middle-register theme played in impressively withheld dynamics, yet still balanced with the bass. 

Here Fujita began to reveal the fuller sonority that would characterize later works on the program, while still keeping dynamics appropriately scaled to early Beethoven style. With the storminess and richness he can summon, one could easily imagine the Tempest or Waldstein sonatas suiting him just as well.

Fujita is a versatile performer whose strength lies in precision, whether that is in chord voicings or deliberate choices of articulation. Wagner’s brief Ein Albumblatt showcased the former, this rarity’s flowing melodic line supported by still relatively conservative early harmonies. From this point onward, however, a recurring technical issue emerged: occasional blurred pedal releases caused struck tones to dissipate less cleanly than ideal.

He moved without pause into Berg’s Twelve Variations on an Original Theme. Variations are a particularly suitable genre for Fujita, who possesses such a kaleidoscopic variety of dynamics and textures in his arsenal. This early Berg work—predating his mature chromaticism or atonal language—can sometimes feel academic, yet Fujita’s reading conveyed clear musical intention and shape. The intricate minor-key fifth variation sparkled, and the contrapuntal voices of the sixth-variation canon projected clearly.

The evening’s highlight came with Variations sérieuses, Op. 54 by Mendelssohn, delivered as a genuine showpiece. After a stately, Bach chorale-like presentation of the theme, each variation unfolded with sharply differentiated character while preserving melodic continuity. In this intimate hall, one could see the many intricate techniques he was employing on the instrument, from pointy struck notes up high, low-hanging wrists in softer sections, and swiveling hands for the wave-like arpeggios. 

Fujita’s attention to detail paid particular dividends in the major-key Adagio, where he expressively savored the dissonances and unexpected harmonic turns. The closing variations filled the hall with explosive sonority seemingly larger than the instrument itself, and his thrillingly virtuosic coda held the audience collectively breathless.

Brahms Piano Sonata No. 1 demands both virtuosic display and the ability to sustain long melodic architecture with apparent ease. Fujita largely met these challenges, making a persuasive case for the composer’s Op. 1.

Fujita’s exacting rhythmic command was consistently impressive yet at times could also stretch phrases beyond their natural breath, making the musical line feel either slightly rushed or oddly prolonged. One such example was the opening of the sonata, where the grand opening movement pressed ahead before the harmonic weight of its chordal statements could fully resonate.

By the second movement, however, his characteristic tonal control and pacing returned, producing luminous, dew-like sonorities in the major-key variation. His third movement scherzo juxtaposed its heavy minor material with buoyant upper-register octaves, with the trio offering welcome contrast. Fujita’s descending octave passages here were astonishingly even, clear, and fearsomely fast.

The fourth movement surged with eye-opening excitement, rolling thunder and military-like marches driving the rondo theme forward. The final coda raced in a breathless tempo, the expanding octaves blazing toward the finish.

The final Isoldes Liebestod, Liszt’s transcription of parts of Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde, is a concert favorite among pianists for good reason. From the very first dissonant chord, struck with emphatic conviction, Fujita built the tension in sweeping waves, letting the drama surge forward in full Romantic tumult.

Fujita offered a luminous encore of Rachmaninoff’s Mélodie in E Major, Op. 3, no. 3, with sparkling arpeggios and singing lines paired with stormy episodes and flourishes.

Vivo Performing Arts presents the Danish String Quartet playing works by Schnittke, Greenwood, and Ravel, February 27 at 8 p.m. in Jordan Hall. vivoperformingarts.org

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