Pianist mesmerizes her audience

KORI BOND, Vieve Gore Concert Hall, Westminster College, Friday and Saturday

The year 2006 has been a major milestone in classical music. Not only does it mark Mozart's 250th birthday, it also commemorates the centennial of Dmitri Shostakovich's death.

There have been several concerts locally recently that have honored the great Soviet composer. This past weekend, Westminster College brought pianist Kori Bond from Idaho State University to Salt Lake City as part of its new concert series to play Shostakovich's "24 Preludes and Fugues" in their entirety over two evenings.

Shostakovich's pieces bear a clear resemblance to J.S. Bach's "Well Tempered Klavier," although the contrapuntal writing is neither as sophisticated nor thorough as Bach's. Yet, as with the older work, Shostakovich's preludes and fugues run the gamut of emotions and expressions.

Quite a few diverse styles come together in the "24 Preludes and Fugues" often in the same piece. Written in 1950-51, these pieces are a concise summary of Shostakovich's mature musical style. His creativity is immense here as he explores the possibilities of expression.

There are several layers at work in these pieces, and frequently what you hear isn't always what Shostakovich intended; the audience needs to actively listen between the lines. There is an amazing undercurrent of contrasting ideas and thoughts — what seemingly is an innocuous little scherzo (the D flat major prelude), for example, is in fact a wickedly humorous little piece that overflows with irony.

Subtlety — both obvious and hidden — is key to these fascinating little pieces. There is so much to glean from them

that it takes a pianist of great talent and musicality to do them justice. What makes them tricky to play, aside from the intricacies of Shostakovich's counterpoint, is that they sound deceptively easy. Yet they're maddeningly difficult to execute with clear articulation.

Bond gave a compellingly dynamic reading of these forgotten gems. Only one of a handful of pianists who has ever played them in their entirety in public, Bond mesmerized her audience in Vieve Gore Concert Hall with her radiant artistry. Her readings unveiled the music's hidden secrets while reveling in its textured expressiveness.

Revealing depth, insight and a remarkable understanding, Bond played these pieces with nuanced eloquence. She captured the vitality of the work as a whole and the stylistic richness of the individual pieces.

Tackling the entire set is certainly a huge undertaking (for the pianist and for the audience), but Bond made the experience momentous with her sophisticated musicality and impressive virtuosity. Her reading of the powerful D minor prelude and fugue that ends the set was also a wonderful close to two evenings of dazzling pianism, as she imbued her playing with ecstatic drama and compelling imagery.

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