Pre-Concert Recital (Mostly Mozart Festival) – Jenny Lin, piano. August 6, 2010.

Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Orchestra (Free).

Program
Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major, Op. 87 (1950-51) by Shostakovich (1906-1975).
Prelude and Fugue No. 1 in C major, from The Well-tempered Clavier, BWV 846 (1722) by Bach (1685-1750).
Prelude and Fugue No. 12 in F minor, from The Well-tempered Clavier, BWV 857 by Bach.
Prelude and Fugue No. 15 in D-flat major, Op. 87 by Shostakovich.

We took the 4:30 pm train to NYC and had enough time to eat (inside the dining room) at Ollie’s and then make it to the concert.

The 4 preludes and fugues lasted a total of 22 minutes. The ones by Bach of course are well-known, he wrote two sets of them, the second set being done 20 years later in 1742. Many other composers have also written these cycles, but Bach’s remain most famous.

The Shostakovich pieces are unexpectedly tonal, even when played right next to Bach’s baroque compositions. Compared to the typical dark Shostakovich work, they sounded positively exuberant. However, they do seem to have the rich sound of Bach, perhaps I should be listening more for the dissonance than the structure?

Jenny Lin was born in Taiwan, spent a lot of time in Europe, and now lives in New York.

Not being a regular solo recital listener, I can say only that I enjoyed the short performance.