Ursula Oppens is a pianist of incredible versatility, at her best when called on to reconcile disparate playing styles, whether in the same program, or within the same piece.
In Thursday evening's concert, she provided the Spaulding Auditorium audience with a compelling demonstration of her mastery, presenting a program of music from the last two centuries which highlighted the breadth of Oppens' pianistic skill.
According to Oppens, the pieces were meant to explore the different challenges offered by virtuosic and non-virtuosic piano compositions. Stravinsky's Sonata (1924), which opened the program, is not particularly virtuosic; the difficulty lies rather in reconciling the "Baroque" melodic contours with the elusive tonality of Stravinsky's neo-classical period.
Oppens' playing was model of intelligence and efficiency, leading many listeners to believe that the piece was the perfect fit for her personal pianistic style.
That sentiment was challenged as Oppens offered a number of equally impressive and appropriate styles during the evening.
In Schubert's Four Impromptus, Op. 142, she showed a clear articulation and delicacy of touch expected from so-called 'period' performers, though her pedaling was manifestly modern. She was equally at ease with the second Stravinsky work, his Four Etudes, Op. 7, written sixteen years before the sonata, during the composer's Russian modernist period.
In contrast with the sonata, the etudes' rapid motion and odd juxtaposition of contrary rhythms make them truly virtuosic works.
Oppens was at her best, though, with the Three Pieces for Piano, by contemporary American composer Tobias Picker.
The early 20th century sense of tonality and downright lyricism of the pieces were unexpected from this student of both Milton Babbit and Elliot Carter, two of the most influential contemporary structuralists.
In the "Liberamente," lush harmonies prop up a lyrical line which teases the listener, edging ever closer to becoming a tune, while never achieving it.
"The Feroce," alternating rapidly between fierce motion and a quick, light touch, provided Oppens with an impressive showcase for her technique.
All the same, nothing could have prepared the audience for Oppens' interpretation of Schubert's "Wanderer" Fantasy, the program's final offering.
Gone was the economy and intimate precision that had characterized many of the earlier pieces.
Oppens imbued this most popular of Schubert's piano works with the kind of epic scope its structure demands.
The intensely dramatic style with which she led the audience through the multiple appearances of the initial theme would have been impressive even from a winner of the Tchaikovsky competition, but from a pianist whose reputation is based largely on her sensitive and intelligent rendering of contemporary American music, such a grandiose performance was nothing short of stunning.
As an encore, Oppens performed "Parchment" by her companion, the late Julius Hemphill, a celebrated jazz musician and composer whose work will be featured in a tribute by the Barbary Coast on November 11.
Oppens will be returning to the Hopkins Center in January for a concert in honor of Dartmouth professor and composer, Christian Wolff. She will perform alongside several other faculty members and guest musicians in the tribute.
