Arts Festival Review: Xiang Zou, Auckland Town Hall

Xiang Zou offered memorable Schubert. Photo / Supplied

While neither Ihimaera nor the Lautten Compagney drew the houses one might have expected, it was extremely disheartening to see such a miserable turnout for a piano recital by the distinguished Xiang Zou.

Those who did not make it to the Town Hall Concert Chamber on Sunday missed an outstanding presentation of the sort of repertoire we do not hear often, if at all.

Zou gave Messiaen's Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant Jesus its Chinese premiere just a few years ago and he presented us with two extracts. Both, especially the Regard de l'Esprit de Joie, displayed a rare feeling for Messiaen's unique mix of dazzlement and soul.

In its wilder moments, I was reminded of Simon Rattle's description of the composer's penchant for celestial boogie-woogie.

Pianists are often wary of Schubert's great B flat Sonata. It requires stamina, a sympathy for the composer's sometimes recalcitrant textures and the ability to reconcile lyricism with the work's weighty surroundings. Zou managed all three; the highlights were a song-like slow movement and a finale of unbridled energy.

In Vallee d'Obermann, Zou caught Liszt's archetypal romantic hero with chromatic sighs and octave work of jaw-dropping speed and accuracy. Granados' Los Requiebros benefited from the same precision and style.

Frederic Rzewski's Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues is a classic of the left-wing 70s avant-garde, and combines the politics of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger with the sort of piano stylings in which anything goes.

Zou laid out an unsparing display of the virtuoso's art, from smashing clusters to blurring, dizzying minimalist textures that make much of Philip Glass' output seem like children's music.

Then a Schubert Impromptu, perfectly afloat in its translucent harmonies, brought back Schubertian joys earlier tasted.