The 126th season of Oberlin College’s Artist Recital Series, the oldest series of its kind in the greater Cleveland area, continued with an exceptional matinee performance last Sunday afternoon in Finney Chapel.  Pianist Kotaro Fukuma, who recently turned 22, performed works by Bela Bartok, Franz Schubert, and Modest Mussorgsky.  A native of Tokyo, he gained worldwide fame when he won the 2003 Cleveland International Piano Competition.  He now tours extensively and is in the process of making his first recording with the Naxos label.

Fukuma opened with Bartok’s Out of Doors, a 15-minute work that depicts various scenes from the countryside.  For example, the first movement, titled “With Drums and Pipes,” juxtaposes loud, percussive crashes with softer, flute-like scales.  Similarly, the third movement, “Musettes,” uses perfect fifth intervals to depict bagpipes.  Fukuma’s performance of the fourth movement, “The Night’s Music,” was very impressive in its use of a variety of touches, articulations, and dynamics to portray the birds, insects and frogs that make up the sounds of night.  In the fifth and most dramatic movement, called “The Chase,” Fukuma played with an energetic drive that made him almost jump off the piano bench.

The four impromptus that make up Schubert’s Op. 90 were performed delicately and sensitively.  Particularly noteworthy were Fukuma’s softer dynamics – hushed and quiet, but at the same time perfectly articulated.  This quality was not expressed anywhere as well as it was in the second impromptu in E flat Major.  Amidst flying, non-stop triplets in the right hand, Fukuma was able to maintain a beautifully ethereal atmosphere that was truly stunning. The long, flowing melody he created in the third impromptu in G flat Major was highly pleasing, reminding the listener of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” sonata.  Fukuma’s playing was filled with beautiful colors throughout, especially in the fourth impromptu in B flat Major. 

The main entree of Fukuma’s program was served in the second half with Mussorgsky’s epic work, Pictures at an Exhibition.  He opened it with a grand statement of the Promenade theme, which he was able to transform into a different affection every time it returned throughout the piece.  Fukuma made use of the beautiful soft sounds that occurred so often in the Schubert in several of Mussorgsky’s Pictures.  This greatly benefited “Tuileries,” but unfortunately the articulation of “Ballet of Unhatched Chicks” and “Market in Limoges” suffered with such quite dynamics.  The tempo and pacing of the final movement, “The Great Gate at Kiev,” was so slow that this climactic ending turned laborious and droning.

Overall, Fukuma exhibited expert control over his instrument – he played with consistent ease and comfort.  His technique was more than solid and he demonstrated a profound sensitivity, especially noticeable in the Schubert.  Yet his playing was so controlled that he was very rarely able to let go and lose himself within the music.  Even so, especially for a 22-year-old, Fukuma is full of talent and shows much promise for a long, successful career.