Olga Kern grabs the spotlight

How do you get from Palos Verdes to Carnegie Hall? Ask Olga Kern.

A week and a half ago, the Russian pianist was a small fish in the classical music world, one of many young, aspiring soloists looking for a break. Her biggest accomplishment was winning the Van Cliburn Piano Competition in 2001, but, as many a gold-medal winner will tell you, that doesn’t always lead to a famous career.

Then on May 1, Kern played at Zankel Hall in New York as part of a small festival of Van Cliburn medalists. Two days later, a glowing review of her performance appeared in the New York Times. The next day, Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman canceled an upcoming solo recital at Carnegie Hall. Guess who the people at Carnegie called to pinch-hit?

Kern performs her solo debut at Carnegie Hall on Wednesday night, but in a lucky bit of scheduling for Southern Californians, the 29-year-old had long ago been booked to appear with the Chamber Orchestra of the South Bay this past weekend.

She was the main attraction at Norris Center on Saturday night (exactly a week after her Zankel triumph) as she performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor. Yet when Kern walked on stage, the spotlight was late, so she was in shadow while taking her bow. Unfazed, she sat down and quietly listened, as the first four minutes of Chopin’s concerto are entirely orchestral.

When her time came, Kern began producing strings of crisp, clear notes played with impeccable technique and elegant phrasing. Throughout the first movement, she avoided heavy use of the sustain pedal and other effects, providing a relatively straightforward interpretation of the score. But for the splendid second movement, Kern loosened up a bit. She indulged herself and played with the tempo -- waiting half a beat before resolving chords, racing through arpeggios and deliberately slowing down some of the larghetto’s more romantic passages.

The results were impressive. Kern’s rendition of Chopin revealed not only her technical abilities but also an innate musicality. Throughout the piece, one tended to tune out maestro Frances Steiner and the orchestra and simply listen to the piano. This is less a criticism of the South Bay band, which attempted to make up with energy what it lacked in polish, and more a tribute to Kern, an artist who clearly connects with the music.

If things go well for her at Carnegie Hall on Wednesday, not being in the spotlight won’t be a problem next time she comes to town.