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Salient. Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Volume 31, Number 11 June 5, 1968

Concerts — Gustic gypsy

Concerts

Gustic gypsy

The confusion that a well established "prepared audience" has over the performer, seems remarkably redundant.

Even during a concert at the Town Hall by Hungarian pianist Tamas Vasary, they insisted on setting up their own intimate barage of personal cacophony.

This is becoming tiresomely unbearable, and on the night that Vasary proved to be a gypsy (of sorts) of the keyboard, Wellington received him with rows of creaking seats, bellowing throats/nostrils (there's nothing that a packet of Vicks medicated won't stop) and a cheap display of nostalgic exhibitionism by clapping a middle movement of a Beethoven sonata.

Tamas Vasary is relatively unknown out here, except for a Chopin and Liszt series recorded on Deutsche and a television programme, a few months back on Chopin. At 35, it is remarkable how he has adopted a personal flair for piano and audience, and to see him convey to the rabble, on this occasion, his beautiful atmospheric playing, was something the more sober personage would take to his heart.

A Pathetique Sonata, which he insisted on (mercifully) performing first, was naturally pedestrian, but suddenly during the Opus 31, No. 3 sonata in E flat, the magic began and from the Scherzo onwards, leapt into a frenzy of delight. The mood was held in Schubert's A major (D. 664) sonata, a most gracious work, and containing the sublimity of some of his early lieder.

A series of Bartok and Kodaly works, particularly that of the latter's Meditation sur un motif de Claude Debussy, was a passionate imitative compliment. The Kodaly nine pieces that followed, seemed at times to be even more evocative of Debussy, especially the Furioso where the footstomping of Mr. Vasary added an intoxicating flavour.

Evening In Transylvania and the Allegro Barbara of Bartok, naturally were all folky and pound, and because the audience by now had forgiven Mr. Vasary for playing works (and probably composers) that they had never heard of, responded ' marcato a la main". And so we heard nearly 30 minutes of Chopin encores. With the electrifying C sharp minor Etude, his face was one big gustic grin, and he lifted himself to his feet, still holding the final chord.

If it wasn't enough for him (and us), we had a "war horse de resistance". Perhaps a too exuberant Liszt A minor Hungarian Rhapsody. It sounded trenchantly knotty, even with Vasary's incisive jabs and histrionic farewelling to arms, causing a rare upheaval in bodily manoeuvring, and a shouting ovation. It was a concert of continuous gusto, one of the most enjoyable and memorable solo concerts, in fact, ever.