A review by Cecilia Xuereb of Lukas's May 16th performance in Malta with the National Orchestra, conducted by Michael Laus.

 

Czech pianist Lukas Vondracek was out to wow his audience with his performance at the Manoel Theatre last Tuesday, and he certainly succeeded. His performance of the 24 variations that make up Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini thrilled the house.

This was a challenge to which he was perfectly matched. At 19 years of age Vondracek has a fantastically powerful technique which he joins to a youthful exuberance. This could be felt even in pianissimo passages, of which admittedly, there were not too many. His style of playing was percussive throughout and the only cantabile passages in the performance came from the woodwind section and provided a welcome contrast to the fireworks that generally characterised the performance.

Even the celebrated 18th variation, in which the original tune is inverted to create a most affecting melody, sounded assertive, if expressive. There was certainly no saccharine lyricism here.

Even more amazing than his powerful octaves and double notes was the scintillating clarity that never faltered, not even in the fastest and most virtuoso passages.

The theme of the Paganini Rhapsody is that famous Paganini violin caprice that has inspired so many composers. From it Rachmaninov fashioned an elegant, witty, immensely resourceful score. Rachmaninov wrote the scintillating score for his own exceptional qualities as a virtuoso pianist, which Vondracek seems to equal. His performance engendered an excitement that was generally matched by the National Orchestra and passed on to the audience.