Boston Classical Review

Pianist Paul Lewis gave a sparkling program of Schubert for his Celebrity Series recital at Jordan Hall on Friday night. Lewis’ impeccable technique and subtle artistry combined for a powerful performance of Schubert’s final three sonatas.

Writing the sonatas in 1828 during the last weeks of his life, the composer was aware that these compositions would be some of his last. As such, these sonatas give the impression of a composer trying to work through many musical ideas in a short time.

Friday evening’s program amounted to a kind of encore performance. In 2013, Lewis played these same sonatas to a sold-out Boston audience. Lewis is a renowned interpreter of Schubert and has performed all of the composer’s works for piano, many of which he has recorded. 

His return to Jordan Hall on Friday was a testament to the power of live performance. Lewis opened the program with the bracing, Beethoven-style chords of the Sonata in Minor. While the dizzying array of styles, modulations, and quick changes can make Schubert’s style seem erratic, Lewis’ interpretation provided a strong argument for the cohesive melodic and harmonic vision of the sonatas. With his perfectly executed runs, deft transitions, and clear emphasis of important melodies and themes, Lewis’ interpretation of the first movement was a seamless exploration of the subtle connections between Schubert’s many musical ideas.

This balance between thematic contrast and integration continued in the Adagio of the second movement. Sweet and simple, the slow movement drew attention to Jordan Hall—an ideal space for solo recitals. Here, Schubert’s signature intimate, singing style sounded beautifully. A charming Menuetto followed and the dotted rhythms danced in the jaunty Allegro of the fourth movement.

The Sonata in A Major, like its predecessor, opens with robust chords that establish the harmony. In the first-movement Allegro Lewis’s careful voicings emphasized the important thematic moments and crucial development section. In the tragic Andantino, the intensity of Lewis’s playing at times recalled Beethoven, while the melancholy simplicity of the arpeggiated middle section, with Lewis’ controlled rubato, evoked the dreamy wandering of Debussy.

If the second movement established Schubert’s romanticism, the Scherzo had the conversational and playful style of Haydn. Lewis’s sly thematic reinterpretation showed his own and Schubert’s sense of humor, while the concluding Rondo led to the second of three spontaneous standing ovations of the evening.

After intermission, Lewis returned for the Sonata in B-flat major, which is as much a thematic departure from the preceding two sonatas as it is a return. While the first two sonatas opened with strong chords, this last sonata opens quietly, although with ominous tremolos in the left hand.

In this last sonata, Lewis’ use of silence was masterful. Schubert’s sonatas are full of false cadences, which even as they suggest an ending, lead to a new exploration. Lewis often let the silences ring between themes, providing the audience with time to feel, think, and make connections across the program.

The Andante Sostenuto divides this sonata in half between the slow and measured movements of the first half, and the up-tempo third and fourth movements—a Scherzo and a Molto Allegro.  Here Lewis’ technique was on ideal display. Lewis not only delivered these complex thematic figures with consummate ease—such that it was easy to forget that Lewis was playing at all—but also with panache.

This final sonata earned Lewis his third standing ovation of the evening.  Lewis resisted an encore through four successive bows, and it was perhaps best to let the program speak for itself. in a showcase of two great artists—Schubert and Paul Lewis—each at the very height of their powers.

The Celebrity Series presents the Jerusalem Quartet at 8 p.m. November 1 at Jordan Hall.  celebrityseries.org

Posted in Performances

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