Press
11. 11. 2018
The Decisive Tone of Anika Vavic, from Bach to Ravel
At the "Autumn Concerts", the Serbian pianist demonstrated great expressive power in her recital at Sala Greppi
Anika Vavic brought to the Sala Greppi a concert with paramount characteristics; a gallery in which the performer presented an exhaustive array of styles, themes and composers.
The Serbian pianist, a great talent with impressive international experience, demonstrated a natural affinity and an instinctual connection with all the composers presented, from Haydn, Scriabin and Bach all the way to Prokofiev and Ravel.
And in any of these composers, whether in the elegant and interesting rendition of Haydn or in her soul-searching Scriabin, the first performer of this concert cycle demonstrated an energetic nerve, with a vein of what we could define as a vigorous and romantic spirit.
In Scriabin her playing was contemplative and almost intellectually exploring, while in Bach she approached the English Suite No. 3 with great attention to its mighty and ineffable polyphony, be it in the fast sections (preludio and gigue), be it in the slower ones, played with a resolute deep musicality, without indulging in sentimentality whilst using the pedal with care and sculpting the architecture of the pieces with great clarity.
The same can be said for Ravel's "Valses nobles et sentimentales", where she depicted the piece in a very resolute fashion, with distinct and powerful colours and none of the decadence sometimes associated with this piece. Her approach to this piece was resolute and not intellectual, even if of course delicacy permeated generously her rendition of the Ravel waltzes.
Her playing has a sculptural quality to it. This was rendered at best in her interpretation of Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 6, fevered and fiery, presented as a veritable synthesis of the three centuries of music she presented in this recital.
