Recital by Dudana Mazmanishvili

Dudana Mazmanishvili - IKIF
26th International Keyboard Institute and Festival
Merkin Hall, New York

July 9th, 2024

Beethoven: Sonata No. 13 in E-Flat Major, Op. 27, No. 1
Schumann: Kinderszenen, Op. 15
Beethoven: Sonata No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27, No. 2 ("Moonlight")
Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16

Dudana Mazmanishvili is a gifted Georgian pianist who has given many performances in Europe and the United States. Her teachers included her mother, Tamar Apakidze, Elisso Virsaladze and Jerome Rose. Like Mr. Rose, she has been a prize winner at the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition. She has lots of power and technique and put together a program of two (according to their opus numbers) "numerically" adjacent works of Beethoven and Schumann. In each case, one sees what terrifically different, but also terrific works these composers could produce around the same time!

The first and third movements of the first Beethoven Sonata were lovely, and played at moderate speeds, though there was slightly too much feeling of rubato - for this listener - in the first. The recitativo at the end of the return of the third movement leading into the coda was beautifully controlled. Much of the second and fourth movements seemed rather too fast and too uniformly loud, and certain things, such as the hands imitating each other in the former, couldn't be clearly heard.

In the Kinderszenen, some sections seemed too intense, and too inflected with rubato for the innocence associated with children. But "Vom fremden Ländern und Menschen" and "Träumerei" had gorgeously played melodies. And the last four pieces were very fine, with lovely shading in the repeat of "Fast zu ernst," a very convincing "Fürchtenmachen" and wonderful control of soft playing in "Kind im Einschlummern" and "Der Dichter spricht."

The second half of the recital ranged from impressive to spectacular (!), starting with the Moonlight Sonata, which received a very enthusiastic reception at the end. The first movement did not start as softly as one sometimes hears it, but was dignified and sensitive. Ms. Mazmanishvili displayed excellent control of the dynamics, and the pacing felt absolutely right and logical. The second movement was graceful and charming. And the finale was powerful and exciting.

The first piece of Kreisleriana was very fast, explosive and "too much" - or so it originally seemed to me. But then I remembered that Schumann, especially in his big works, can be quite "extreme" and that this was appropriate. This interpretation of Op. 16 was very good, indeed, including the "frisky" first intermezzo in the second piece, the "wash of sound" in the second intermezzo, the mischievous third piece, the slow and thoughtful sixth piece, the brusque seventh piece, and lastly the sly and secretive final piece, the ending of which she played beautifully. Somewhere in the middle of this challenging work one sensed she was connecting with it on a deeper level, and I think the audience reacted to this.

Ms. Mazmanishvili played two encores, whose extreme contrast further displayed her artistic versatility.

The first was the Rondo-Toccata, by the Georgian composer Revaz Lagidze. This was a tour de force, a real show-stopper! It included extremely fast interlocking chords and huge splashes of sound, with lighter contrasting material in the middle.

The last encore was the Bach transcription of the Adagio After Marcello. It was slow, dignified, had beautifully articulated ornaments, and was played with great expressivity.