MARTIN JONES, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, University of Utah, Sunday.
In his numerous appearances in Salt Lake City over the years, pianist Martin Jones has always displayed his vast repertoire, which, in addition to much of the standard works for solo piano, also encompasses a large body of works that are infrequently heard live, or which have been neglected.
Jones returned to Utah last week, once again as guest of the Gina Bachauer Foundation, with which he has had a long relationship. During his weeklong stay in Salt Lake City, he visited several elementary schools as part of the Bachauer's Music in Our Schools program.
His stay culminated in a recital Sunday afternoon in Libby Gardner Concert Hall, where once again he showed his affinity for programming works that lie outside the standard piano literature. There were also a few delightful surprises in his recital as well.
The English pianist proved yet again that he is an exceptional interpretive talent and an artist in whom technique and musicianship are on an equal footing. His playing is remarkably understated. To see a pianist devoid of mannerisms that add nothing to the interpretation of a piece is wonderfully refreshing. Jones quite simply lets the music speak for itself.
Jones opened the recital with the Grand Capriccio, op. 172, by Carl Czerny. While Czerny is known to all piano students for his myriad keyboard exercises, he also wrote a significant amount of larger works for piano.
The Grand Capriccio is a charming piece, but rather conventional in format and thematic material. Jones, however, managed to give a nuanced and engaging reading that gave the piece life and vibrancy.
Three of Franz Schubert's "Moments musicaux" followed the Czerny. Jones easily captured the natural melodicism and songlike nature of the pieces with his fluid phrasings and seamless playing.
Rounding out the first half was Felix Mendelssohn's forceful "Variations serieuses." Despite Mendelssohn's popularity, the "Variations serieuses" is rarely played in recital. Why that is so, is not easily understandable, since this is a wonderfully crafted work of near symphonic scope. And throughout the piece, Jones brought out the drama and dynamism with his lucid and richly articulated interpretation.
The second half of the recital was lighter than the first and contained some enchanting surprises. It opened on a Latin note, with captivating music by Spaniard Isaac Albeniz ("Rondena") and Argentinean Carlos Guastavino ("Romance de cuyo").
After these two scintillating pieces, which Jones played airily, a set of George Gershwin songs followed. He played these five with a light hand in arrangements by pianist Earl Wild ("Liza," "The Man I Love," "Somebody Loves Me," "Embraceable You" and "I Got Rhythm").
The final piece on the program was Sergei Liapunov's Transcendental Etude, "Lesghinka." A fiery piece, Jones captured the dynamic pianism with his nimble playing.
There were also two encores — a lush arrangement of Harold Arlen's "Over the Rainbow" and a robust version of Mozart's Rondo alla Turca from his A minor Piano Sonata, K.331.
E-mail: ereichel@desnews.com