Performance: Oleg Marshev

Auckland Town Hall

Review: Tara Werner

Chopin's Twenty-Four Preludes Op 28 represent a sound world of emotions unparalleled in the entire piano repertoire, certainly equivalent to the two magnificent sets of Preludes and Fugues by Bach.

Like Bach, Chopin systematically goes through all the major-minor keys, but while Johann Sebastian often represents a cool intellectual challenge in terms of his counterpoint, Chopin manages to elicit an incredibly wide range of moods and harmonic styles.

A performance of the entire Op 28 gives plenty of opportunity for a pianist to highlight the composer's mercurial shifts in texture and emotion.

But, strangely, Oleg Marshev performed the Preludes in an almost perfunctory manner, not allowing each piece to breathe before immediately embarking on the next.

The resulting whirl hid a number of suspect notes and, in one Prelude, an obvious memory lapse.

These aspects, combined with overzealous use of rubato, where the tempo was flexible to an extreme, meant that this was a disappointing interpretation.

Glimmers of what could have been emerged in the most famous Preludes in the entire set - No 7 in A major and No 13 in F sharp minor.

Both contained an expressive lyricism and depth of feeling singularly lacking in the others.

Two pieces by Prokofiev should have given the pianist a chance to redeem himself. But while Four Pieces Op 32 and the Sonata No 2 Op 14 were played with a more proficient technique, both scores did not totally fire.

The four dances in Op 32 were lacklustre and surprisingly dull, given their tempestuous nature.

And the same could be said for the Sonata, an early work where Prokofiev was flexing his pianistic muscles.

Apart from playing a driving allegro marcato, Marshev's approach lacked the necessary spirit.

Fortunately, his encores were clearly articulated, somewhat balancing the inferior impression gained of either the Chopin or Prokofiev.