On the Radio

Tune your radio dial to 90.9 FM on Mondays at 9 pm to hear Front Row Washington, broadcasts of recent concerts in the area's concert halls. Here is the program of this evening's installment:

February 2, 9 pm
Alexandre Tharaud, piano
La Maison Française

Tharaud is an Ionarts favorite, and if you have not heard his recordings yet, we urge you to do so. Hearing him live was one of the highlights of 2008, so tune in this evening to hear for yourself. Here is a snippet from my review of the concert:

It was the thoughtfulness of his playing and the careful creation of vivid soundscapes [in Ravel's Miroirs] that impressed, like the quicksilver fluttering of "Noctuelles," the rainbow plumage of the "Oiseaux Tristes" and the sere, guitar-like serenade of "L'Alborada del Gracioso."

Chopin's op. 28 Preludes followed, a work Tharaud has described as "shot through with violence and death." Even in the most serene movements, a restless fear loomed, bursting out in a deathly shudder in No. 14, booming pedal-point sforzandos in No. 17, and the hollow wallop of the three final notes of No. 24, a low D that resonated like a slammed sarcophagus lid. At its best, Tharaud's performance captured the chimerical nature of this set of 24 pieces, preludes to nothing, mostly miniatures that dissolve like spun sugar a moment after tasting.

Charles T. Downey, Alexandre Tharaud (Washington Post, October 27)

The encores were also from favorite recordings, a Bach Adagio (D minor concerto, BWV 974, adapted from Marcello) and Couperin's "Tic-Toc-Choc."