MUSIC REVIEW : Pianist Alexander Peskanov in Concert at Black Box Theater

Pianist Alexander Peskanov is a courageous man.

Few would dare to start a concert with Schubert’s “Wanderer” Fantasy, D. 760. It has been said that the composer himself had trouble playing it, and Liszt actually wrote a simplified version of it.

Peskanov brought it off with ease Sunday night at the Black Box Theater, the acoustically flattering, appropriately named recital hall of the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Peskanov is a Xerox Affiliate Artist with the Pacific Symphony, which sponsored the concert.

The adagio is the focal point of Schubert’s Fantasy. Unfortunately, the pianist took the tempo marking a bit too literally, and the Wanderer theme sounded ponderous.

The 12 Chopin Etudes, Opus 10, are no less challenging. Peskanov’s amazing technique faltered slightly in the first two etudes, while in the lyrical third etude and in the melancholy Etude No. 6, Peskanov revealed another side of his personality.

Prokofiev’s one-movement Sonata No. 3 contains only a little lyricism, but it moves with demonic energy, something Peskanov did not lack.

The small but appreciative audience brought the pianist back for a mini-recital of encores. The first was a spirited study from Rachmaninoff’s “Etudes-tableaux.” The next two works were composed by Peskanov himself. First came a charming “Little Waltz,” written for his wife in a chromatic style. This was followed by a virtuosic potpourri based on themes from “Carmen.”