Plein-air pianism triumphs at the Ford

The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre tried something different Friday night: a solo piano recital, reportedly the first one since the L.A. County Arts Commission started its programming there in 1993.

The choice was a risk, of course, with the Hollywood Freeway churning away outside the front gates. Yet it worked -- beautifully. Every note, even the quietest, could be heard clearly over the ambient noise, with virtually undetectable reinforcement from four tiny speakers suspended over the stage.

There were no reflecting panels onstage -- the raised lid of the piano was all that was needed -- leaving the Steinway set au naturel against the striking background of stone walls and vegetation.

The Ford was fortunate to have a superb pianist who could shine in these conditions, 1997 Van Cliburn Competition gold medalist Jon Nakamatsu. Every note was also precisely defined, clearly articulated, with nothing smeared thanks to his light use of the damper pedal. He vividly caught the extraordinary scene-painting and impishness of the conclusion of Schumann’s “Papillons” and brought a cool, controlled drive to the finale of Mendelssohn’s Fantasy in F-sharp minor.

Even as his choices from the 19th century German repertory grew heavier, Nakamatsu treated the music with much the same level of meticulous clarity and a minimum of rubato. The sprawling Brahms Sonata No. 3 in F minor can be an indigestible thing, but Nakamatsu always kept things moving, without slighting the great climax of the second movement.

Nakamatsu’s discography is a zigzagging affair, with warhorses like Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 set off by such esoterica as Lukas Foss’ Piano Concerto No. 1 or, on his most recent Harmonia Mundi CD, four sonatas by a now-obscure contemporary of Beethoven, Joseph Wolfl.

He opened the concert with a taste of Wolfl, the Sonata in E major, Opus 33, No. 3, and made an immaculate case for its conventional Classical manner, fully inhabiting every phrase and accent.

Nakamatsu topped off the evening with Liszt’s transcription of Schumann’s “Widmung” (Dedication) and a fascinating rendition of Chopin’s Polonaise in A-flat major, building it gradually and patiently until the flags were waving grandly at the close.