Music Reviews : Alan Feinberg in Contemporary Program

New York pianist Alan Feinberg presented a thoroughly satisfying solo recital of mostly American music Tuesday night in Gerald Daniel Recital Hall at Cal State Long Beach.

Feinberg--who last performed in Los Angeles in November with percussionist Daniel Druckman--mastered the intricacies of every score with nonchalant technical prowess, demonstrating deep understanding of some very difficult music.

The local premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s brainy Sonata No. 3, written for Feinberg last year, gave the pianist the biggest workout, with layer upon layer of serial structures, organized into a three-movement sonata form. Feinberg approached the 20-minute work with confidence, conveying complicated motives and harmonies with seeming ease.

Roger Sessions’ masterpiece of free serialism, the Piano Sonata No. 3 (1964-65), also proved a test for Feinberg’s stamina. Inspired by the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the three-movement composition flowed seamlessly, stirring deep emotions.

Three works from the 1970s by Feinberg’s former teacher, Robert Helps, found a more sentimental, melancholy side to his artistry. Two Etudes for left hand contrasted duple and triple meters with a precarious chromatic melody given to the fifth finger. The purely tonal “Hommage a Faure” also proved a study on bringing out a difficult melody. All three were mastered handily by Feinberg.

Brilliant, comprehensive performances of Gottschalk’s Variations on “God Save the Queen” and “Le Chute des Feuilles” opened the program. Feinberg originally intended to play three Preludes and Fugues by J. S. Bach, but explained from the stage that the instrument he was performing on was more suited for Romantic music.

Also on the program was Soviet composer Javanshir Kuliyev’s “Seven Pieces With Interludes in Mugham Modes”(1980), which Feinberg had played here in November.