This was the second of Stefan Warzycki’s piano recitals for this Fringe. What makes him special is that he is only able to use his left hand, the right no longer works because of focal dystonia. His choice for the recital was admirable and if you were not watching you would easily think two hands were playing.
His opener was Tim Murray’s Postlude (after Scriabin) which was the composer’s first work for the left hand and commissioned by Stefan Warzycki. Without a break he went on to play a Prelude and a Nocturne by Scriabin.
Bach’s Chaconne in D minor was arranged by several but it is the Brahms version that is regularly played nowadays. It is said that Brahms wrote the arrangement for his own enjoyment and not for any particular one-handed pianist.
After the shortest of breaks we heard more modern music with Franz Schmidt’s Toccata in D minor for the Left Hand, written in 1938. Takashi Yoshimatsu’s Arabesque from Ainola Lyrical Ballads followed; Ainola was the home of Sibelius and the atmospheric Ballads remind us of Sibelius.
The recital finished with two works by Godowsky (1870-1938) who was much preoccupied with exploiting the capabilities of the left hand. He considered the left hand superior to the right hand and students of the topic will have read his published reasons.
One can only be full of admiration for Stefan Warzycki’s playing. He is to be congratulated on giving us a quite fascinating and absorbing recital.
Event: Thursday 25 August 2011 at 12.30pm