Pianist Oeyen, 17, Lives Up to Laureate Status

About Andrew von Oeyen’s pianism, there is not a lot to say after acknowledging the 17-year-old’s obvious, indisputable gifts and accomplishments and the impassioned, rhapsodic performances he sometimes achieves.

At his recital at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades on Saturday night, the young musician, winner of the 1996 Bronislaw Kaper Award from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and since then soloist with that orchestra twice, showed the versatility and technical solidity that have earned him early recognition.

Oeyen’s program on this occasion proved generous, and a boon to the happy crowd in St. Matthew’s airy, commodious and handsome sanctuary. Three major sonatas--Beethoven’s “Waldstein,” Schumann’s Second and Ginastera’s First--made up its backbone. The fleshing out came in works by Bach, Liszt and Chopin.

Beyond an extravagantly thorough and effortless technique, the most promising aspect of Oeyen’s fluid and personable playing was demonstrated in the slow movements of the sonatas. The pianist seems incapable of misarticulating a musical sentence; indeed, his achievements already include the ability to create whole sound-paragraphs and a followable continuity.

These accomplishments are not yet consistent: Much of Liszt’s “Vallee d’Obermann” emerged fragmented and disjunct; the fast movements in the Schumann sonata remained unprojected--the resultant blur, however pleasant, masking the work’s scenario. And the entire proceedings, played on a splendid, resonant Kawai piano in an already over-resonant room, sometimes became unclear.

In the end, however, understanding is the ultimate talent any artist can bring to a performance. Young Oeyen shows an abundance of understanding, plus the willingness to share it. The signs are good.