| The Kalamazoo Gazette
Keyboard Wizard Dacic Dazzles in Recital
Monday, October 25, 2004
By Matt Steel
Special to the Gazette
The 26-year-old pianist, Misha Dacic -- originally from the former Yugoslavia and now living and studying in Miami -- presented a formidable program in Sunday evening's Gilmore Keyboard Festival Rising Stars Recital at the Epic Center's Wellspring Theatre.
Curiously, the program included several works that were not originally written for the solo piano, and one Liszt work that was reworked in a supercharged arrangement by Vladimir Horowitz. Dacic, a slightly built man, sat high and close to the keyboard and played with what appeared to be a rather flat hand position.
He used a light, delicate touch on the five Domenico Scarlatti harpsichord Sonatas (K. 162, 531, 197, 55 and 46). He further subdued the tone by extensive use of the damper pedal. In spite of such restraint, he managed to produce very expressive phrasing within a limited dynamic range.
The most imposing work on the program was Franz Liszt's Fantasia and Fugue on "Ad nos ad salutarem undam," originally written for the organ. Dacic performed Feruccio Busoni's arrangement of the work for solo piano, based on Liszt's own transcription for piano four-hands. The theme was taken from Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera "Le Prophete."
This piece is full of Lisztian bravura, with frequent hand crossings, lightning-fast octaves in one and two hands, incredibly fast arpeggios and scales that cover nearly the entire keyboard, rapid wide leaps in both hands and moments of pure bombast. Conversely, there were moments of beautifully tranquil passages in which Dacic displayed wonderful legato technique. And that all happens in the Fantasia.
The Fugue pits a hyperactive countersubject against the simple borrowed tune. Dacic for his part proved to have, perhaps, the fastest left hand that Gilmore audiences have seen so far. To say that his performance of this work was dazzling is certainly an understatement.
In a program of extremes, the Liszt was followed by the dolorous and introverted Chopin Nocturne in E Minor, Op. 72. Then came two studies in frivolity: Chopin's Mazurkas Op. 30 and 63, both in C-sharp minor. The Chopin set was rounded out with the lively and demanding Introduction and Rondo in E-Flat, Op. 16. Dacic kept his touch light throughout all the Chopin works.
In a work originally for cello and piano, Sergei Rachmaninov's Op. 19 in G minor, Dacic played Arcadi Volodos' arrangement of the third movement Andante for solo piano. Here again Dacic used his remarkable legato technique to meld the beautiful cello melody seamlessly into the fabric of the piano accompaniment without losing its solo identity.
Dacic's interpretation of Rachmaninov's Polka Italienne, in its piano solo arrangement by Volodos, was very convincing. This raucous, dramatic parody of the dance benefited from Dacic's serious approach and attention to detail, and from not succumbing to its comedic nature.
The program ended with Horowitz's fantastic arrangement of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 19. Dacic was simply brilliant, again with hand speed faster than the eye could clearly follow. Here, the two-handed octaves move in opposite directions!
Like any Horowitz performance, Dacic was not note-perfect, but audiences, Sunday's in particular, tend to focus on the amazing facility and musical interpretation of the artist. Not to be lost in the fascination with his technique is the fact that he played the entire concert from memory. And speaking of memories, Sunday's audience will not soon forget the amazing talent of this young pianist.
© 2004 Kalamazoo. Used with permission
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