Eldred Marshall Sheds Light on Beethoven

July 3rd, 2007

 Freelance Writer, Laurence Vittes

There is no telling where artistic illumination will be found. Certainly, there is little guarantee that it will come at one of the glittering cultural palaces that so handsomely trumpet their wares.

Saturday night, the illumination came from a young pianist named Eldred Marshall during a recital of piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven. Playing an occasionally recalcitrant piano at the Brand Library Recital Hall in Glendale, Marshall presented a recital so full of musical thrills and beauties, and so in identification with the composer’s own persona, that, for a few hours, it was as if he were communing across the centuries to conjure up a rare and magical musical spectrum.

It was not only Marshall’s playing that made the recital special, although he put an unusual amount of heart and humanity into the big tune in the first movement of the Appassionata, reminding me why this sonata is so popular. It was what occurred at those times when Marshall’s fingers fell victim to Beethoven’s enormous demands.

On such occasions, most pianists, including many illustrious ones, resort to a sort of fallback strategy that enables them to right the ship, musically speaking, and get back into the musical flow (although, in the process, they compromise the music’s essential integrity).

Marshall, on the other hand, refused to let anything slow his momentum and stayed on his course with relentless courage and determination. It was if he were identifying with Beethoven’s own courage and determination in overcoming the obstacles, including deafness and his status as a social outsider, the composer himself was faced with so painfully. In doing so, Marshall both affirmed his dignity, his rights and his credentials as an artist.

The program would have been illuminating even had the performances been less compelling. The early opus 10 number 1, a blustery thing in C minor (the same key as the composer’s famous Fifth Symphony), shows what Beethoven was coming up with in the mid 1790s in his campaign to impress the Viennese musical public with his virtuosity, temperament and emotional range. The “Waldstein,” which followed, written nearly a decade later, shows Beethoven similarly ambitious in a major key.

After intermission, the extraordinary “Sonata quasi una Fantasia” (opus 27 number 1), with its free-form, fantastical blending of both sudden and subtle flashes of melodic and harmonic elements, previews the large issues of texture and meaning with which Beethoven would become increasingly absorbed. The familiar “Appassionata,” which concluded the evening (except for a gloriously-played encore of French Impressionism), held the audience in rapt silence.

The audience, perhaps 200 strong, was a significant part of what made the evening special. Parents with young children like cherubs; retired couples coming, like me, to just hear Beethoven, a beautiful woman with a companion canine named Tucson (a most musical mutt); and students taking notes for their college classes. It felt good being there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Pasadena, CA   Sunday Jul 1

I attended Mr. Marshall's concert June 30 at the Brand Library in Glendale, CA. I thought he gave a stirring, inspiring performance. I look forward to hearing him again. Unfortunately the venue was not up to par. The piano left much to be desired and the room was noisy.