A question of proper balance

This first season in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, most people would agree, has been an experimental one, especially when it comes to acoustics, which are constantly being tested.

One area turning out to be somewhat problematic is the instrumental recital involving a piano. Violinists Hilary Hahn and Maxim Vengerov, in separate recent performances, both tended to be overwhelmed by their piano accompanists. Peter Wispelwey, on the other hand, had no problems in projection last month when he played all six of Bach’s Unaccompanied Suites for Cello, even when using a small Baroque instrument for the final suite.

On Friday, pianist Alfred Brendel and his cellist son, Adrian, had their turn in a Beethoven program, and again, the problems of balance between the two instruments surfaced.

All too often, the three Cello Sonatas (Nos. 1, 3 and 5) and the Variations for cello and piano on “See the conqu’ring hero comes” from Handel’s oratorio “Judas Maccabaeus” emerged as piano pieces with lightly heard cello obbligato.

We can assume that the elder Brendel was not trying to swamp his son. Certainly, the father brings decades more performance experience to the task, as evidenced by his stylistic fluency, insight and variety in tone and dynamic. Son Adrian, who is 26, is less experienced and may be a more introspective artist.

Or maybe a reticent one. His stylistic instincts and mastery of the instrument seemed unquestionable. But his dynamic and expressive range sounded narrow. When he forced the sound, which he did rarely, the tone turned squally.

High points of the recital included the Scherzo in the Third Sonata, much of the Fifth and the pair’s single encore -- the second of Schumann’s Five Pieces in Folk Style for Cello and Piano, Opus 102. Even so, much as one wanted it to happen, the partnership almost never seemed a sufficiently equal one.

The balance problem might be solved by putting the piano lid at half-post instead of raising it fully. Pianists might object, but it’s worth a try. The experiment continues.