The more I hear of Irena Koblar's music, the more I like it. It's not often that a young pianist of this caliber is so powerful - most pianists don't mature and become truly great until their 50s or so; take Rubinstein, Horowitz, and Zimerman for example. That aside, Ms. Koblar's performances more often than not leave me breathless. Consider her recording of Beethoven's Piano Sonata Op. 10 No.3 in D major. What power and sensitivity! It was strongly reminiscent of the young Argerich from the 60s, winning the International Chopin Competition.
She has more than dazzling virtuosity; I have heard pianists with little else and though they may dazzle, they play without soul. (Lang Lang and such pianists are good examples) Ms. Koblar has plenty of soul. Her Scarlatti is dramatic without becoming Romantic gush, her early Beethoven rings clear and Classically true but her poetic depth is amazing considering her age. She dominates the keyboard (just watch her attack and posture!) without making it an empty instrument, again, something that normally is acquired through age and experience.
So many times women pianists flee to one of two extremes - overly sentimental or too dominating - Bianca Sitzius is a good example of the latter, Dubravka Tomsic of the former save for her Bach recordings. Yet Argerich and Irena Koblar were and are different. They have both, and Koblar, while she may never reach the emotional depth that Zimerman creates, nor the overwhelming virtuosity of Hamelin, has a confidence, interpretation, and technique all her own, and I say that it is good.
Her maturity, poetics, virtuosity, and faithful interpretations of the masters make her in my opinion one of the top young pianists in the world. This was her first concert - may she have many more, and have a long, distinguished career!
Finally, she is absolutely beautiful. It's rare for looks and art to be so well matched!
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Wow, an Angela Cartwright-looking (one of the girls in the Von Trapp family in the Sound of Music) girl who can really play! I note that she has had a significant amount of Russian influence in musical training, among which is Alexei Lubimov. Not sure what you might mean by soul, but she certainly has breathtaking control over the keyboard.
When will we get to hear a post in YouTube from the up and coming Timothy Davis??
Oh, and thanks for the link to the performance in YouTube. I don't have time to find the best performances in YouTube. It's time-consuming to find the stellar ones. And this one is stellar!
Heh, I can give you some more links if you want 'em. What do you think I do at 5:00 AM Saturday morning? Watch anime and good music videos, of course!
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