Boston Classical Review

Paul Lewis performed music of Mozart, Poulenc and Debussy Saturday night at Jordan Hall for Vivo Performing Arts. Photo: Robert Torres

What do Mozart sonatas have in common with Debussy and Poulenc? 

Paul Lewis provided a compelling answer Saturday night at Jordan Hall, shaping his program for Vivo Performing Arts with rich detail, understated humor, and narrative clarity. As part of his “Mozart+” recital tour, Lewis framed lesser-known Mozart works with the textural variety and evenness of weight often associated with French repertoire. (Lewis was stepping in for the originally scheduled Joyce Yang, who had to withdraw due to injury.)

A renowned interpreter of Schubert and Beethoven, Lewis carried his characteristic balance and elegance to Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C major, K. 330/300h. Within the architecture of the first movement’s sonata form, he wove a tapestry of luminous colors and intricate detail. Flourishes in the upper register flittered in waves, and each repeat revealed new inflections in phrases.

Though the pianist’s Andante cantabile placed more emphasis on structural clarity than “cantabile” expression, the chorale-like textures emerged through careful voicings. The middle section glowed in luscious warmth, delving into a starry evening away from the grassier outer sections.

Sounds in the Allegretto drew from a wide dynamic and color palette, from orchestral depth to more chamber-like intimacy. Lewis’s Mozart style is entirely natural: he allows the notes, each one important in its role, to guide the music toward a more complete whole. In this movement in particular, playful lines accumulated organically, culminating in a cleverly paced final gesture that made the work’s understated wit all the more compelling.

Poulenc’s Improvisations were interspersed across this program, with Nos. 7-12 in the first half and Nos. 1-6 and 13-15 in the second half. The ordering suggests subtle logic: the opening Mozart sonata shares its C major tonality with No. 7, while the closing C minor sonata aligns with No. 15. Designed to be performed separately, these charming miniatures encompass a wide expressive range, and Lewis’s programming highlighted both their variety and cohesion.

His playing has a dry sense of humor and an inherent matter-of-factness that flourishes in Poulenc’s peculiar writing, particularly in the whimsical endings that garnered chuckles from the audience. Detail work and clear musical ideas defined this performance, such as the watery repeated notes of No. 7, the suave chromatic scales of No. 10, the balanced tonality shifts of No. 5, or the march-like impulse of No. 6.

One particular standout was No. 12, “Hommage à Schubert.” While Poulenc’s writing only faintly evokes its dedicatee, Lewis’s affinity for Schubert lent the piece a quiet authority. Lyrical passages shimmered, his coordination between hands precise and his intentional space between sections elegant and symmetric.

In the second half, a wintery No. 13 contrasted from the peculiar characters of Nos. 1-6, as the set moved toward the more introspective. No. 14 unfolded in delicate songful grace, before an intensely melody-forward homage to Édith Piaf in No. 15 rendered wispy tonal palettes.

Without pause, Lewis proceeded from No. 12 to Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse. Here he unleashed his full dynamic spectrum, along with the virtuosity to accompany all of his detail work. His interpretation favored adrenaline-rushed, spritely momentum, instead of luxurious indulgence in the lushness of harmonies. Though not primarily associated with French repertoire, Lewis demonstrated a keen sensitivity to the variety of colored textures that paired tastefully with the sensuality of this piece.

One of select few minor-key Mozart sonatas, K. 457 in C minor closed the program with dramatic weight. The first movement carried early Beethovenian gravitas, reminiscent of his F minor Sonata Op. 2 No. 1. Though perhaps sacrificing clarity for the lower-register rumbles in the wet acoustic of Jordan Hall, Lewis attended melodic lines with snapping point, propelling the music forward with urgency.

The Adagio floated gently in his prayer-like, delicate touch. The melodic lines of the opening section eased gradually to impossibly soft dynamics, glass-like in fragility. The central section again evoked Beethoven, this time recalling the Pathétique, as Lewis’s expansive bass sonorities filled the hall.

His playing carried heft into the Allegro assai, thriving with the tempo’s demands with thrilling passagework and a prevailing sense of turbulence. Lewis’s narrative trajectory in this sonata was compelling, with a reading of the final movement that elevated the sonata’s intimate scale to a true concert-ending climax.

As an encore, the pianist offered what he called “authentic Schubert” through the Allegretto in C minor, D. 915, played with poise and restraint, a fitting distillation of the qualities that continue to define his artistry.

Vivo Performing Arts presents pianist Tony Siqi Yun playing Bach/Busoni, Beethoven, Liszt, Berio, and Brahms, 7:30 p.m. April 23 at the Groton Hill Music Center. vivoperformingarts.org

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