Ninth Annual International Piano Festival Finale

Sadly, my only encounter with this year’s San Francisco International Piano Festival, presented by Old First Concerts and curated by pianist Jeffrey LaDeur, was last night’s Finale. The title of the program was Symphonic Dances; but that only modestly suggested the diversity of the music that was performed (as well as the instruments doing the performing). Indeed, the “core” of the evening departed almost entirely from the keyboard in favor of the steelpan, which is the national instrument in the country in which it originated, Trinidad and Tobago. The performers were the father-and-son duo of Liam Teague and Jaden Teague-Núñez.

I must confess that I am not quite sure how these instruments were tuned, but it was definitely not equal temperament! That said, Liam Teague’s composition “A Visit to Hell” was scored for a duo of piano and steelpan; and he skillfully avoid any “clash” of “dueling intonations.” On the other hand, his performance of “raindrops” displayed a prodigious account of rich polyphony on a single steelpan. This was followed by a nostalgic (for me at least) account of John Lennon’s “Imagine” with Jaden on piano and Liam on steelpan.

Jeffrey LaDeur and Elizabeth Dorman at their respective instruments (screenshot from the YouTube video of yesterday’s performance)

The entire program was framed by two compositions for two pianos. Elizabeth Dorman made her Festival debut performing with LaDeur. Both of the selections were created in the United States by two decidedly different composers. The opening selection was George Gershwin’s “Cuban Overture,” inspired by the composer’s visit to Havana. Gershwin had originally titled the piece “Rumba,” and it is an energetic reflection on Caribbean rhythms and dance forms. I must confess that this music is a personal favorite; and, as overtures go, it definitely knows how to make the listener sit up and take notice!

The program concluded with the two-piano version of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Opus 45 “Symphonic Dances.” I first came to know this music in its orchestral version when it was on the “flip side” of the album I purchased for Ottorino Respighi’s “Roman Festivals” tone poem. In that version there is a piano part; but it is decidedly secondary (if not tertiary). When limited to keyboards, the sonorities are not as rich; but the attentive ear will probably have a greater appreciation for the interplay of the thematic material. Yesterday was my first encounter with that version; and, while I had been familiar with the orchestral version for many decades, it was definitely an engaging journey of discovery!