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VIGOROUS AND DECLAMATORY

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Sacha Grynyuk plays for Derby Chamber Music,
heard by MIKE WHEELER

 

Recent winner of the gold medal from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Sacha Grynyuk has begun making considerable waves in the piano world; his recital for Derby Chamber Music (Multi-Faith Centre, Derby University, Derby, UK, 20 March 2009) showed why.

His alert playing in the first movement of Haydn's B minor Sonata, Hob 16 No 23 had an almost Scarlatti-like crispness, full of strong dynamic contrasts. Elegant in the minuet, he used the repeated-note figures in the finale to generate considerable momentum.

His exploration of the darker sonorities in the first movement of Debussy's Pour le Piano was balanced by the cool poise he achieved in the second movement, the languorous tune in the middle emerging to fine effect, while the final Toccata was full of sparkling brilliance.

It was followed by a blistering account of Prokofiev's Sonata no 7, vigorous and declamatory in the first movement without being clangorous, which allowed important inner details to emerge. He caught the emotionally volatile character of the second movement compellingly, and created tremendous forward drive in the third.

After the interval, he brought out something of the latent slavonic character in Chopin's Preludes, Op 28, even suggesting an affinity with Musorgsky's 'Bydlo' in No 2. His wide range of colours allowed the stark contrasts between some pairs of consecutive pieces to stand without trying to smooth the transition unnecessarily.

His encore was the Sonata in E, K26, by Scarlatti, which is more or less where we came in.

Copyright © 6 April 2009 Mike Wheeler,
Derby UK

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