The Miami International Piano Festival —a Unique Musical Event
by Joseph Plon
Concert Reviewer
The Miami International Piano Festival presented a memorable concert at the Lincoln Theatre on May 22. Three excellent young pianists were featured: Kemal Gekic (Croatia), Ilya Itin (Russia) and Francesco Libetta (Italy), in collaboration with the premier performance of the Miami International Festival Orchestra. The repertoire was centered around three works for piano and orchestra by the great, Hungarian pianist-composer, Franz Liszt, who left a legacy of compositions requiring superstar interpreters. All musical challenges were met with ease at this concert.
Beginning with Rossini’s William Tell Overture—given a splendidly spirited performance by the Festival Orchestra—Kemal Gekic followed with Liszt’s “finger breaking” transcription of the same work for solo piano. Almost without skipping a beat, he then tackled Liszt’s Concerto No. 1. Ilya Itin followed with the Concerto No. 2. Francesco Libetta ended the concert with the Fantasy on Hungarian Folk Tunes.
There was more than an abundance of musical fireworks and pianistic razzle-dazzle. In fact, there was an overabundance. Generally, speedy tempos and sheer volume of sound were pushed to their outermost limits. Some restraint would not have hampered the overall brilliance of the performances. The very able conductor, William Noll, with the Festival Orchestra, provided strong support for the soloists. Notable throughout was the orchestra’s rhythmic and tonal precision. The audience loved it. There were cheers and standing ovations galore.
A big “Bravo” is owed to the organizers of the Piano Festival. With this concert, they significantly upped and enlarged the dimensions of their programming without diminishing their principal goal of supporting and nurturing gifted young pianists. Hopefully this concert will open the way to similar events in the future. There are many plums to be picked from the vast repertoire of piano concerti.
In their eighth season, the Miami International Piano Festival continues to reach for the stars. On May 22, they caught several.
