There is something inspiring about seeing and hearing outstanding musical talent in young people. And I don’t simply mean musical technique: the challenging skill of playing the correct notes at exactly the right moment in the appropriate manner. I refer to that difficult-to-define quality that brings a deeper meaning to the music, creates a sense of “line” and continuity, and somehow draws the listener intimately into the sound-world of the composer. Many musicians seem unable to do this, including some professional musicians who I know. So it was especially rewarding to be at Ben’s Theater recently and listen to two young pianists of exceptional talent, both of whom created a memorable musical experience and showed that they have the ability to reach into the music and express it with sensitivity and intuition.
The two pianists were Patchara Kawoeain and Zhaoqi Li who are both students of the distinguished pianist and teacher Dr. Eri Nakagawa of Mahidol University School of Music. In the recent past, Dr. Eri has also given several superb and memorable performances at Ben’s Theater.
The first half of the concert featured Thai pianist Patchara Kawoeain and consisted of challenging works by that master of the piano, Frédéric Chopin. Patchara opened the concert with a captivating and flawless performance of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2. Johann Sebastian Bach needs no introduction, but to those not familiar with keyboard music, The Well-Tempered Clavier might seem a curious name. The word “tempered” refers not to a mood but to a new keyboard tuning system that was being introduced in Bach’s time. The obsolete word “clavier” comes from the German Klavier and refers to any keyboard instrument such as the harpsichord, the clavichord or the organ though today the pieces are invariably played on the piano. The publication appeared in 1722 and consisted of pairs of preludes and fugues in all the 24 major and minor keys, which was made possible by the new tuning system. Twenty years later, Bach compiled a second book along similar lines making a total of 48 pairs of pieces. Even today, they are essential study for every aspiring pianist. They are such a foundation of the piano repertoire that musicians often refer to them simply as “The Forty-eight.”
Patchara gave an impressive performance of this rather solemn pair of works. The prelude was given a lyrical and reflective performance and Patchara highlighted the various melodic lines of the fugue with precise yet sensitive playing. There were also gentle touches of rubato that gave the work shape and form. I especially enjoyed Patchara’s restrained style of performance: none of that pointless and self-conscious swaying around that you sometimes see among concert pianists.
Patchara then played seven works by Frédéric Chopin which impressively, he performed from memory. The first work was the Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1. Chopin wrote 21 nocturnes and this one comes from a set of two composed in 1841. Chopin borrowed the concept of the nocturne from the Irish composer John Field, who at the time enjoyed European fame. Field’s nocturnes invariably featured a song-like melody, with a guitar-like accompaniment in the left hand. Chopin developed the nocturne into something more elaborate and virtuosic. This one opens with a haunting melody contrasted with a boisterous middle section, featuring technically demanding passages involving double-octaves. Patchara played the melancholy opening section beautifully and his performance of the difficult later section was fluent and impressive. He seemed to understand the spirit of the music.
Chopin’s Etude in A minor, Op. 10, No. 2 was composed in 1829 and originally intended as an exercise to develop the weaker fingers of the right hand. The composer went to the trouble of writing in the fingering for nearly eight hundred of the notes: rapid chromatic figures which are played by the third, fourth and fifth fingers of the right hand, to the accompaniment of single notes or chords in the left hand. Patchara handled the delicate, filigree right hand part with confidence and aplomb and at the same time brought out the main features of the left-hand part. It was an impressive performance. And so was his thoughtful playing of the folksong-like Ballade no. 2 in F major, Op. 38, one of the works that Chopin completed when he was staying in Mallorca for the bitterly cold winter of 1836. Patchara gave a magical performance of the work, in which his “timing” and placing of the notes was perfect. The middle section of the work is marked Presto con fuoco (“very fast with fire”) and there was certainly “fire” to Patchara’s compelling performance. He handled the technically demanding part accurately and with impressive confidence.
Chopin’s Four Mazurkas, Op. 17 were completed in Paris when the composer was aged twenty-three. The mazurka has its origins in Polish folk dance and Chopin wrote fifty-nine of them in which he personalized the style, making his own pieces more sophisticated and technically interesting. I especially enjoyed Patchara’s lyrical and thoughtful performance of the first two mazurkas, in which he shaped the phrasing beautifully especially in the slower middle section. His careful attention to the dynamics was also commendable. In the waltz-like Mazurka No. 3 in A-flat major he gave a lovely lilting performance, again with careful phrasing. He brought a delightful sense of movement to the well-known Mazurka No. 4 in A minor, which has a kind of improvised quality. The melancholy ending was particularly touching.
During the winter of 1830-1831, Chopin wrote the Grande Polonaise Brillante for piano and orchestra. A few years later, he made a solo piano arrangement of the piece, to which he added his newly-composed piece entitled Andante Spianato, to act as an introduction. The Italian term spianato means “smooth” or “even” and refers to the tranquil character of the introduction. The work opens lyrically with a lovely theme in the upper register. Like so many of Chopin’s melodies, there’s a sense of melancholy which Patchara brought out with his sensitive playing and expressive phrasing. The polonaise itself is a light and delicate dance theme which becomes more animated and technically challenging. Patchara played the work brilliantly with superb articulation and complete control. The closing section was truly heroic and earned an enthusiastic ovation from the audience.
Patchara is from Trang in South Thailand. He was born in 2003 and since 2021, he has been attended the College of Music at Mahidol University. He has already won numerous prizes in international competitions. “My favorite composer is J. S. Bach”, said Patchara. “For me, I feel really enjoy playing, practising and performing his music.” Patchara also enjoys reading and swimming. His performance at Ben’s Theater showed that as a pianist, he has an extraordinary talent and a compelling sense of musicianship for one so young.
The second half of the concert was devoted to a single work, Franz Schubert’s monumental Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960 which was his last piano sonata, written only several weeks before his death in November 1828. It’s a broad, expansive composition with each of its four movements built on a large scale. The sonata is especially long, even more than its two predecessors, which were already longer than usual. It can run for over 42 minutes if the repeats are observed.
This sonata is a demanding work, both musically and technically and Chinese pianist Zhaoqi Li gave a profound, powerful and compelling performance. And all from memory, which is a feat in itself.
Zhaoqi began studying piano in China at the age of seven. He was later admitted to the middle school affiliated with the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, where he began professional piano studies. He continued his studies at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music and during that time earned experience performing numerous classical and modern piano works. In 2022, Zhaoqi came to Thailand to study for his Master’s degree at the College of Music, Mahidol University and particularly enjoys playing works by Schubert, Beethoven and Bach.
“I think the most important thing is that after coming to Thailand, I have made great progress in playing classical music”, Zhaoqi explained. “My standard of piano playing has improved and I’m grateful to my professor, Dr Eri Nakagawa, who has brought me a lot of insights. I would like to continue learning from her.” Zhaoqi also enjoys the music of Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff and earlier this year performed the well-known Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Mahidol University Symphony Orchestra.
Schubert adapted a form of sonata that had been developed by Beethoven, in which the first two movements were the most serious in terms of content and often employed the most thematic development. In contrast, the third movement was usually a light-hearted scherzo while the last movement invariably had a happy, positive mood. Schubert used this format for many of his piano sonatas, including this one. The entire sonata is typified with dramatic and sudden changes of key that he was so fond of writing. The sonata sometimes quotes phrases from Schubert’s earlier works and there are several allusions to works by Beethoven, a composer that Schubert greatly admired.
The opening bars of the sonata were played with perfect phrasing and a satisfying sense of pace and indicated that we were about to hear a masterful performance. Zhaoqi is a highly professional, stylish pianist who has confident presence on stage and who gave a mature and thoughtful performance of the work. The first movement opens with a timeless and serene hymn-like theme, supported by a restless accompaniment and punctuated by repeated threatening trills deep in the bass notes of the piano, which Zhaoqi made suitably ominous. I was impressed by his sensitive playing, his carefully observed dynamics and perhaps most of all, his sense of musicality.
In the slow movement, Schubert takes us to a mysterious, unworldly landscape and Zhaoqi captured the remote atmosphere with a thoughtful and intense performance. I was also impressed with the dynamic range he got from the piano and the brooding quality he brought to the repeated Beethoven-like motto in the bass.
The third movement is a Scherzo and a lively, refreshing one at that which cheerfully transports the listener magically away from the intensity of the two previous movements. Zhaoqi played with a delightful sense of lightness and superbly articulated cross-rhythms. He really seemed to really capture the spirit of the music.
The fourth movement returns to more serious matters, although some passages reminded me of the last movement of The Trout Piano Quintet which Schubert had completed ten years earlier. The movement has a surprisingly complex structure and travels through different keys, ending with a triumphant and high-speed coda that it positive in nature and seems to resolve all the many dramatic musical conflicts that previously occurred in the work. It seemed to me that Zhaoqi really make sense of this remarkable and difficult work, giving it shape and meaning. He brought to the music a sense of line, a difficult concept to explain but which involves the feeling of development and continuity throughout the work. This is something that can be achieved only by experienced musicians, and Zhaoqi’s visionary performance of the Schubert was thrilling, revealing and exhilarating. It justifiably received a warm and enthusiastic reception from the audience and brought the concert to a triumphant conclusion.
