Olga Kern makes an electrifying impression in generous recital for American Pianists Association

In a position both personally and historically to celebrate Sergei Rachmaninoff's 150th birth anniversary, Olga Kern delivered powerfully her own tribute to the Russian composer Sunday afternoon at Indiana Landmarks Center.

American Pianists Association opened its season with a visit from the Russian-American pianist, who in 2001 became the first woman ever awarded the Gold Medal (shared with Stanislav Ioudenitch) in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. 

Olga Kern distinguished herself in competition and now has her own. 

Putting a prominent stamp upon everything she played at Indiana Landmarks, including three encores, Kern could be summarized in her choice to give voice to "Sphinxes," a movement of Schumann's "Carnaval" that the authoritative voice of Clara Schumann recommended never be played.  

Kern made maximum use of her strong command of the Steinway's bass to make a brief rumble of chords out of what the composer notated as three squarish figures in the bass clef, period. Some pianists heed Clara's advice; others might follow Vladimir Horowitz's choice to play "Sphinxes" as bare held octaves in the same pitch patterns as the score indicates. Other than silence, that's probably the best way to negotiate the mystery. Sphinxes don't have a reputation for being gabby.

In Kern's performance, the rest of Schumann's "Carnaval" had similar individuation of its character sketches, representing figures at a masked ball. The pieces with fast tempo directions tended to be very fast. If you were strolling among costumed figures crowded at carnival time, it would likely to be fleeting glimpses only that you get. That must be how Kern receives her sense of pace for this charming suite.

The other long piece on the recital was the honoree's Variations on a Theme of Corelli, op. 42.  In the program booklet, Kern says this represents the zenith of Rachmaninoff's achievement as a composer. That's a good assessment. As one who doesn't respond enthusiastically to Rachmaninoff, to me this set of variations is full of inventive ingenuity, without much of a tendency to apply filigree and bombast in a manner that Rachmaninoff could pour out in his sleep. It's up there with another Rachmaninoff variations set of substantial proportions, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, which I would much rather hear than any of Rachmaninoff's four numbered concertos.

Otherwise, the non-Rachmaninoff portion of the recital got zesty treatment in the music of George Gershwin to end the first half. Of the Three Preludes, No. 1 sounded unpleasantly rushed and cluttered in Kern's performance Sunday; the other two were both idiomatic and rhythmically well-defined. Intermission was heralded by Earl Wild's blithe "virtuoso prelude" on "Fascinatin' Rhythm." 

The way Kern assembled shorter Rachmaninoff pieces was inspired in this program. She lent No. 4 of Moments Musicaux, the Barcarolle, op. 10, No. 3 and Polichinelle, Op. 3, No. 4 their properly distinctive contrasts, and three transcriptions — especially the passionate setting of Fritz Kreisler's "Liebesleid" — were top-drawer in sensitivity and expressive impact.

The encores that Kern promised in advance likewise complemented one another well. After a Rachmaninoff prelude came the ever-popular "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Rimsky-Korsakov. Finally there was a favorite Horowitz encore, "Etincelles" (Sparks) by Moszkowski. 

That Russian maestro, whom Kern heard as a little girl when Horowitz returned in triumph to his homeland in 1986, notably included "Etincelles" as an encore in his White House recital during the Carter administration. The slight tone picture, in other words, has had a way of connecting itself to piano history. From Russia with love have come lots of memorable musical moments.