Craig Sheppard piano recital Nov. 5 '13

I have had the joy of attending Craig Sheppard's 2-year program series "Mostly Brahms" at the Meany Theater at UW, for all performances.  My interest in the project started because the piano music of Johannes Brahms is very dear to my heart, and I would go so far as to say that Brahms is my favorite composer.  Therefore, when I heard about the recital series, I immediately bought tickets, and was not disappointed. 

My impressions of the Op. 116 were the most favorable; in particular no. 2.  Sheppard used a touch of such delicacy, as though one were not plucking the strings of a harp, but rather hitting them very gently; they did not sparkle, but gleamed briefly and then were extinguished. 

Suffice to say, I have enjoyed each of the other recitals as well.  Last night's was no exception.  Sheppard's immaculate technique brought out the interwoven layers; he utilized many different timbres, and deeply considered the message of each melodic line.  The Brahms' Scherzo was a piece I was totally unfamiliar with, and I feel priveleged that I could hear it for the first time under his fingers.

The Schumann Fantasy in particular ended up being one of those pieces that puts you under a microscope to say, "Now what have you got to say for yourself?"  to which one can only reply, "I am unworthy!  My effort must be doubled and tripled; I must take art more seriously!"  From a compositional point of view, Schumann never ceases to amaze me with his profound originality, particularly in harmony.  Where Brahms takes those and "Bachifies" them--that is to say, he corrals all the individual unique elements, exploits them in precisely all the right places, highlights and develops them, all in a little container meant to close the questions, Schumann spreads out his ideas to the wind, lets them fly away in all directions, fluttering and burning as they take shape, and yet the quantity of these very uniquely expressive elements seems endless.  Sheppard obviously was enjoying every minute of the first half of the program, and he was on top form technically.

Yet...I cannot help but say that the Brahms op. 118 and 119 were not "his usual playing".  They sounded a bit weary and stretched-thin (no wonder, considering this time in the school year).  The melodies sang, but didn't speak.  We all know there were errors that he doesn't usually make, so that is all I will say about that.  These little pieces happen to be my favorites in the Brahms piano miniatures repertoire, and so I felt that there were many things that I knew where going to be said, but he didn't really say them to the extremities of their potential. 

Having experienced Craig Sheppard's recitals before and having loved them all deeply, my feelings are that Sheppard was not playing as well last night due to some unusual circumstance, maybe even just tiredness.  No one can blame him for that.  We all know his potential; if it fell a bit short, it is an anomaly that couldn't be helped.  However, I really want to be able to hear the second half of the program again sometime, so I can hear what he really has to say about the music.