CONCERT REVIEW: Artymiw performs grand finale to music series

by Zdanna Krawciw-Skalsky

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The last concert of the 2002-2003 music series sponsored by The Washington Group Cultural Fund under the patronage of the Embassy of Ukraine was a recital by pianist Lydia Artymiw at The Lyceum on Sunday, May 18. The event was a fitting conclusion to a wonderful concert season. Ms. Artymiw has been described as a pianist with a beautiful touch, an impressive technique and an ability to communicate her deep feelings for the music she performs. Her playing on Sunday was a shining example of these musical gifts.

The first work on the program was Beethoven's early C Major Sonata, Op. 2, No. 3. Ms. Artymiw's intelligent and sensitive rendition was characterized by clearly articulated passages in the Allegro movements and a beautiful lyrical tone in the Adagio movement. She brought to the fore the interplay between the top and the middle voices both in the first and in the third movements. Joan Reinthaler of The Washington Post wrote that "[she moved] through the polyphonic lines of the third movement with a sense of well-balanced momentum."

Ms. Artymiw has a special affinity for Robert Schumann. In an introduction to his music, she spoke briefly about the composer and, in particular, about the "Papillons," which was inspired by Jean Paul Richter's romance "Die Flegeljahre," the final chapter of which describes a masked ball. Schumann wrote that "Papillons" had "tried to turn this masked ball into music."

Ms. Artymiw pointed out the key themes and the various personalities which appear in the 12 vignettes that make up the "Papillons." After this interesting commentary, she offered a delightful performance of the whimsical "Arabeske" followed by an exquisite rendering of the "Papillons." To once again quote Ms. Reinthaler, "Her reading of the Schumann 'Papillons' offered vivid vignettes of dance and personality set off in a splendid array of tone colors. For this piece to make other than the most superficial sense, there needs to be a vision that governs the relationship of each of the 12 movements to the others and that imposes restraint along the way. Ms. Artymiw handled this beautifully, never making too much of an opportunity to make a statement, but not holding back when a statement was needed."

After a brief intermission, Ms. Artymiw introduced the second half of the recital with the playing of Mykola Lysenko's "Song without Words" in E Minor, Op. 10, No.1. Her beautiful tone coloring lent poignancy to the gentle intimate melodies of this song. The final work on the program was Brahms Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24. As an interesting aside, both this Brahms piece and the Schumann "Papillons" are sets of variations, 24 in the Brahms and 12 in the Schumann work. However, the two compositions are vastly different in character. Whereas the "Papillons" recreates the gaiety and lightness of a masquerade ball, the hues in the Brahms Variations are dark and the textures thick. Ms. Artymiw delivered a powerful performance of this complex work eliciting orchestral sounds from the piano and leading the listener through the contrasts of mood in the variations while at the same time preserving the unity of the whole piece.

A standing ovation by the appreciative audience was rewarded with an encore: Schubert's Impromptu in A Flat Major, Op. 90, No. 4, played with delicacy and grace.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 15, 2003, No. 24, Vol. LXXI

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