Two spooning pianos positioned in the centre of the auditorium set the scene at Jubilee Hall earlier this week, ahead of Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy’s two piano exploration of the music of Bach and Shostakovich.
In the background the sound of seagulls and crashing waves added a quaint air to proceedings, carrying a potent whiff of nostalgia like we were relieving the earliest days of the Aldeburgh Festival just by being here. The theatrical stage set within the austere decor of Victorian civic pride of Aldeburgh’s only purpose built performance space promised something special.
Kolesnikov and Tsoy bedecked in all white, exposed ankles and comfy shoes, slipped quietly into position at their respective keyboards, both dutifully, reverentially and respectfully coaxing sounds from the instruments in front of them. At first, Kolesnikov appeared the more delicate and tentative during the opening Shostakovich Prelude and Fugue. Tsoy in comparison was bolder, firmer, and more assertive. The dynamic between the two works was expressed deftly: Bach was the master, Shostakovich the ever-hopeful (maybe even fawning?) pupil.
Had this been the pattern for the rest of the concert I’d have been impressed, but what the pair did next by swapping pianos mid-Shostakovich prelude and fugue, really put the cat pleasingly amongst the pigeons. From here on each pianist successfully evoked the sound of each composer already played. No mean feat. And as the concert progressed and they swapped again, so the orchestrated confusion challenged and befuddled until, when fugues were split between keyboards, it became nearly impossible to discern who was playing when.
In their characteristic way the duo are exceeding the challenges laid at artistic programmers’ feet to ‘do something different’. This concert combined the current trend for playlist programmes with a gentle nod to theatrics, commanding our attention, tickled our senses and posing all manner of questions. That makes it art, I think. No?
At the end, Tsoy lifts his partner’s arm aloft like like they’ve conquered an Olympic challenge. Were they surprised? Maybe. As they awkwardly took their bows out of sync, the mask slipped momentarily. Maybe none of this was as meticulously planned as they might have led us to believe. Which is why this turned out to be easily the best thing I’ve seen all week at Aldeburgh.
The Aldeburgh Festival continues with appearances from Kolesnikov and Tsoy on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 June.
