A Romantic Night With the Eclectic Chiu

Frederic Chiu is considerably better known now than when he last appeared here, in 1990 on the highly successful Gold Medal debut series at the late, lamented Ambassador Auditorium. And his fame is deserved.

In a delectable, showy program at the El Camino Center for the Arts on Saturday night, the American pianist, whose tastes are recognized as admirably eclectic, this time specialized in Romantic music from the 1830s: Mendelssohn’s Sonata in E, Opus 6, Liszt’s Italian “Annees de Pelerinage” and Chopin’s Opus 10 Etudes.

Chiu showed heroic stamina, an unflagging technique, deep understanding of the musical world here visited, and strong command of his resources. His Mendelssohn was lucid, his Liszt heroic, his Chopin informed.

Still, he did not always achieve deep rapport with this material. His pianistic colors are few, his emotional palette limited; he produces at the keyboard one kind of sound, and it does not suit all occasions.

For all the easy virtuosity on display, not all of Chiu’s performances became compelling, or as mesmerizing as they aimed to be.

Great chunks of charm did not materialize in the Mendelssohn sonata, as they ought. In Liszt’s three “Sonetti del Petrarca,” the playing was rational, rather than poetic; missing here was a complete range of colors to express every feeling.

And, despite an easy command of the technical requirements of the etudes, some came across with real character, and others emerged neutral and mechanical. One admired the nuances and probing achieved in the E-flat minor and F minor, for example, but not the throwaway attitudes in several others, like Nos. 1, 4 and 8, which came out generic instead of individual.

As a single encore, after the vociferous cheers of the audience, Chiu played Liszt’s transcription of Schubert’s famous “Standchen.”