Pogorelich Recital Brilliant but Reserved

Pianist Ivo Pogorelich communed with Chopin on Thursday at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

In some ways, it was a private affair.

Stage lights were kept low. Pieces flowed one after another. Audience applause was not acknowledged by the internationally acclaimed but controversial pianist until the end of each half of the program. The beeping of someone’s cell phone ruffled more feathers among the listeners than it appeared to impact the pianist.

It didn’t take long for people to realize they should withhold their approbation until Pogorelich was willing to acknowledge it. When he did, they exploded. Still, there were noticeably fewer people at the end of the recital than at the beginning.

Pogorelich apparently didn’t want his concentration interrupted. Or else he conceived of a connection or through-line among works that many others don’t perceive.

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In the first half, these were the Polonaises in C minor and F-sharp minor (Opus 40, No. 2, and Opus 44, respectively) and the Sonata No. 2. In the second, they were three Mazurkas from Opus 59 (A minor, A-flat and F-sharp minor) and the Sonata No. 3. The program originally announced listed six of Rachmaninoff’s “Moments musicaux,” Opus 16, but they were dropped and Chopin’s final sonata added. There was no encore. It was a meaty enough evening.

What kind of evening did Pogorelich deliver?

Percussive, brilliant, fractured, hard-edged, muscular, powerful, enervated, somber, ponderous, lugubrious, fleet, reserved, anti-romantic. But also not songful, moody, generous, expansive or nostalgic. In short, not one single thing.

To be sure, his playing was dazzlingly proficient and virtuosic, octaves flying strong and clean, complex passages unfolding with balance and clarity. He explored subtle degrees of dynamic in pianissimo. He could also suspend the audience’s breath by pausing on a single note.

The most affecting moments came in the slow movements of the sonatas. Some of the most interesting when he seemed to be almost improvisational, exploratory, discovering new aspects of the composer.

But there was a distance and a reserve to it all, as if it didn’t matter whether anyone were listening or not. At times, one wondered if he felt a more traditional style could no longer be achieved.

Pogorelich has been labeled a genius. He has also been called self-indulgent and infuriating because he has so much to give but declines to meet other people’s expectations.

Both sides could find proof in this recital. Certainly he goes his own way.

One only wishes he would take more of us with him.