Zlata Chochieva piano. February 4, 2024.

The Town Hall.  Front Orchestra Center (N117, $15.45).

Program

Waldsezenen, Op. 82 (1848-49) by R. Schumann (1810-1856).

Etudes D'execution Transcendante, S. 139 (1852) by F. Liszt (1811-1886).

Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-sharp minor "Sonata Fantasy," Op. 19 (1898) by A. Scriabin (1872-1915).

Rothe Blatter Fallen From Daemmerungstraume, Op. 14 (1882-83) by F. Draeseke (1835-1913).

Miroirs (1904-1905) by M. Ravel (1875-1937).

Concert Arabesque on Themes of "On the Beautiful Blue Danube" (1904) by R. Struss (1864-1949)/A. Schulz-Evler (1852-1905).

I sat in the back (third row from last) for the concert.  The seat had a good view of the stage and the pianist.

Frankly most of the pieces were unfamiliar to me, the exceptions being one of the Ravel movements (IV. Alborada del gracioso) and the Blue Danube themes.  The piano repertoire is huge, and my knowledge of it is quite narrow.

To be able to let the concert flow over you can be enjoyable.  One also notices the sound insulation isn't good enough to stop the noise from the hallway, or the sirens of the emergency vehicles on the street.

As far as I could tell, there was no break between the Draeseke and Ravel pieces, which generated some confusion for me.

What is unforgivable is letting people in while the musician is playing.  That to me is disrespectful.  There are enough breaks in the program that late comers can be seated without having to wait too long.

I left as soon as the program ends to catch the 4:07 pm train back to New Jersey.