CAS Producer Beth Zucchino and pianist Jean Alexis Smith chat with (R) Yuko Tanaka Apr. 29

TANAKA PLAYS AUTHORATIVE MOZART IN CREATIVE ARTS SERIES FORTEPIANO RECITAL

A pleasant surprise greeted me April 29 when I attended a fortepiano recital at Resurrection Parish in Santa Rosa. The venue was simple, modern, beautiful, and seating was comfortable. The décor reminded me of Pi, a Parisian artist of the fifties.

The performer for the season’s final Creative Arts Series concert was pianist Yuko Tanaka. Ms. Tanaka has remarkable keyboard artistry and has a knack of making the difficult look so easy. Her first selection, Juliana Reichardt’s Sonata in G Major, was new to me and I suspect to most of the audience. Ms. Tanaka treated us to a brief commentary on the composer and her times before treating us to a charming rendition of the sonata, performed with all the great fluidity that such a work requires.

It’s not so often that one hears Mozart played so authoritively and without affectation and mannerisms as in Ms. Tanaka’s performance Sunday of the C Major Sonata, K. 330. The fortepiano is not a powerful instrument but by playing extremely soft pianissimo the artist was easily able to provide a wide range of contrasts. Ms. Tanaka made the 1783 work wholly her own, the arpeggios in the Allegretttofinale were fluently played.

The performance of Sonata C Minor, Op. 17, Nr. 2 of J. C. Bach was thrilling, and I suspect she chose it to show his influence on Mozart. The articulation was crystal clear in her dazzling performance.

The pianist presented a brief and clear commentary before each piece, a good way to prepare the audience for the music, especially for works by relatively unknown composers or unfamiliar works. It was particularly helpful when she explained the difference between the Viennese instruments, which she used in this program, and the English instruments. The latter are typified by Broadwood pianos, and are well suited to the Haydn Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI:50, which closed the program. When she played she made me feel the music as I had never before experienced.

Ms. Tanaka’s unassuming manner and delightful playing charmed the audience and many remained after the performance to speak with her about the music.