Music : Nojima Plays Haydn, Ravel, Brahms at Oxy

In the 16 seasons he has been appearing here, Minoru Nojima seems never to have played music by Haydn. So it was fitting that he began his Thorne Hall recital Friday night at the top of the Haydn line.

The composer’s E-flat Sonata, No. 52, is an unquestioned masterpiece whose depths sometimes elude even the most probing fingers. On this occasion, the celebrated Japanese pianist brought thoroughness and efficiency to this demanding music; one heard the familiar piece, sensibly revived, virtuosically declaimed. What was missing was the full dynamic palette possible--in the score and on the modern keyboard. What one heard was perfunctory.

Ardent fans of the pianist--the half-full hall held many of them--may have been thrilled by the remainder of the program, devoted to two longtime Nojima specialties, Ravel’s “Gaspard de la Nuit” suite and both books of Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Paganini. One veteran Nojima-observer found both performances lacking in dynamic range, touch-variety, facets of feeling.

Many of the coloristic possibilities in Ravel’s most pianistically exigent work did not materialize. Exquisite softnesses as well as thundering fortissimos turned up missing--despite the welcoming acoustic of the Occidental College hall.

And Brahms’ most formulaic and heartless work also fell under the constraint of limited colors. The prevailing dynamic was mezzo-forte, and Nojima seldom seemed to attempt to venture far from that norm.

At the end, there was one encore: Liszt’s “Vallee des Cloches.”