At 72, Pianist Janis Is Still a Deft Performer

Our ears and thoughts are in the early part of the 19th century, immersed in Chopin’s wondrous C-sharp minor Etude of Opus 25, played by senior pianist Byron Janis. That seraphic duet between the cello line and its soprano counterpart is reaching a conclusion.

Suddenly, a phone rings. Not really a phone, as it turns out, but a loud watch alarm. How offensive, we think, that a member of the audience should let that happen. But no. The ringing, which interrupted Janis’ generous Chopin group twice during his recital in Riverside Municipal Auditorium on Saturday night came from the pianist’s person. The veteran musician stopped playing momentarily, turned off the watch and proceeded, unfazed. And beautifully, one must say.

Janis, who remains a controversial pianist at age 72, was virtually repeating the program he gave in New York two years ago on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his Carnegie Hall recital debut. It is a mixed affair, beginning with 11 of Prokofiev’s “Visions Fugitives,” continuing with eight Chopin pieces, then ending with Mozart’s Sonata in F, K. 332, Albeniz’s “Evocacion” from “Iberia,” and Liszt’s transcription of the Liebestod from “Tristan und Isolde.”

The veteran pianist is no longer a barnstormer, though he gets around the keyboard efficiently enough. He now specializes in spidery and delicate readings--four Chopin mazurkas, for example, attested to the present convolutions of his interpretive arsenal.

His playing can be vehemently articulate, as much of the Prokofiev was, or vaguely dreamy, as his Chopin nocturne and impromptu. Now, as before, he tends to do too much in bringing each piece to life; he may have calmed down as a person, but his art is still overwrought. Not surprisingly, this is both irritating and engrossing.