Pianist to continue long history of performances in city

By Rick Rogers

Published: January 27, 2008

"My concerto is a compromise between a symphony, a concerto and a huge sonata,” the noted 19th century composer Robert Schumann wrote about his early sketches for a piano concerto. "I see I cannot write a concerto for the virtuosi. I must plan something else.”

Thankfully, Schumann didn't pursue a different avenue. More than 160 years later, Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor remains a masterpiece of construction, formal design and melodic brilliance. Garrick Ohlsson, who will return for an encore engagement with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic this week, will perform Schumann's concerto. The concert will also feature Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6 in B Minor.

Ohlsson has had a long history with Oklahoma City orchestras. He has appeared twice with the philharmonic, performing the Brahms Second in 1994 and the Rachmaninoff Second in 2005. He also performed the Tchaikovsky First with Luis Herrera de la Fuente in 1984 and the Rachmaninoff Third with Guy Fraser Harrison in 1972.

Ohlsson's career was launched in spectacular fashion after winning the gold medal in three prestigious competitions: the International Piano Competition Ferruccio Busoni in 1966, the Montreal Piano Competition in 1968 and the Frederick Chopin International Piano Competition in 1970. Ohlsson remains the only American pianist to have won the Chopin competition.

Schumann's 1845 piano concerto straddles the classical and romantic periods. It's a rare example of a work that honors the past while looking to the future. It was produced around the same time as his oratorio "Das Paradies und Die Peri” and his Symphony No. 2 in C Major.

"It's a masterpiece that's more romantic than Mendelssohn but not revolutionary like Liszt and Wagner,” Ohlsson said recently. "It has the feeling of a fantasia in that it feels free, but it definitely has a foot in both worlds.”

On first hearing, Schumann's piano concerto sounds remarkably straightforward and surprisingly uncomplicated. In reality, it's a deceptively difficult work. An ability to clarify its textures while navigating its frequent changes of mood is a necessity for making this concerto a success.

"It's not in the Chopin or Mendelssohn tradition where a ‘show-offy' approach is important,” Ohlsson said. "It's not heavy, it's not thick, and it's not a barn-burner. And while the concerto has plenty of exciting moments, it's clearly not one of those virtuoso-for-virtuoso's-sake kinds of work.

"There's an attempt to integrate the piano texture with the orchestra. It's also a forward-looking symphonic style where piano and orchestra join together to form new textures. It's large chamber music in a way: The solo part is brilliant, and it has a grand cadenza. It sort of does everything you can do in a piano concerto.”

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