Violinist William Preucil performed four Romantic works on his Artist Recital program last Tuesday in Finney — sonatas by Dvorak, Richard Strauss, Brahms and a gushing, extravagantly romantic Mozart.
Preucil, concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra, is not able to prepare solo recitals very often. This stamina-driven recital — over two hours in length — included works by the stunning but often dense composers Brahms and Strauss. Yet through Preucil’s fingertips, it came off as easy as a Sunday concert in the park.
Preucil’s tone, beautiful and balanced to the last, was never in competition with the grand Steinway played by Canadian Arthur Rowe. In fact, the born chamber musician evidenced his incredible ensemble skills by conceding prominence when necessary to his accomplished pianist, a professor at the Canadian University of Victoria.
In the melodious Mozart, a Sonata in B-flat major, K 454, Preucil let the bass of the piano shine, without hiding it with a screeching soprano line as many soloists do. Beginning any recital with a Mozart sonata takes self-deflecting confidence, something that Preucil carried from the beginning to the end of his performance. His conservative programming, precise playing and regal stage presence proved above all that Preucil was interested in the delicate subtleties of making honest music, rather than in flamboyant virtuosity.
It could be said, above all, that this concert was sincere. Not hyped as extensively as most others in the Artist Recital Series, Preucil seemed at home, playing as though the audience was simply a group of friends invited for an ad-hoc college recital.
That said, Preucil’s deliberate, careful manner would imply that he took music as an artistic endeavor and had little outright joy. But as the concert progressed, especially in Dvorak’s playful Sonatina, Op. 100 — written, in fact, for the composer’s children — any notion that Preucil wasn’t enjoying himself was reduced to a joke nearly as whimsical as Preucil’s spirited renditions.
The Mozart sonata, played in the old-school vein of Nathan Milstein or Zino Francescatti (not surprising, since the great Francescatti gave Preucil lessons), was lyrical, but obviously stylized, with a deep, heavy tone and a plethora of sliding shifts. However, the three-movement work sparkled with a quasi-nineteenth-century beauty and the interpertation seemed logical when set aside from the political and historical context.
The Brahms sonata, written during the same fit of inspiration that fueled the “Double” Concerto, is an odd work, which combined an Andante and Scherzo into one movement and ends with an understated, controlled Allegretto.
Preucil did not break into a sweat as musicians — including professionals — often do anticipating Brahms chamber music, replete with 18th-century counterpoint and tricky hemiolas. In fact, Preucil’s Brahms came out with an astounding, uncharacteristic lightness. Preucil’s cheerful, dancing Brahms all but suffocated the extraordinary difficulties in technique and rhythm that are often wrought by the German composer.
In fact, the only remotely questionable interpretation was Preucil’s handling of the sonorous-then-cheerful second movement, which seemed to be, if possible, too buoyant in places. Overall, however, it was refreshing to hear a rendition willing to make Brahms appear so accessible, transparent and enjoyable.
The Dvorak, elementary in its technical demands, did not lose Preucil’s undivided preparation and commitment as a result of its perceived simplicity. The phrasing, articulation and precise ensemble interaction were stellar for a piece that could be easily taken for granted on auto-pilot.
The final Strauss was the heart and the climax of the concert. In case anyone had any doubts about Preucil’s technical abilities (which should have been put to rest with the lucid Brahms), this three movement sonata likely extinguished them.
Though many questioned Preucil’s ordering from the start, in retrospect, it seemed like a masterful scheme. Drawing the audience from the beginning to the end, Preucil played the entire recital without sacrificing an iota of music on deaf ears.
Associate Dean of the Conservatory Marci Alegant said that though Preucil plays regularly with the orchestra in Cleveland, his performance was still significant.
“I think that for our students, Cleveland is deceptively [far away],” she said. “Students from the college and the Conservatory don’t usually have the opportunity to hear that caliber of musician. He might as well have been from New York.”