Emmanuel Music in the News

The art of . . .
Bach at Emmanuel

Lloyd Schwartz, The Boston Phoenix | October 16, 2007

Craig Smith’s Emmanuel Music began its season with Bach, the composer it’s best known for. But Bach’s Der Kunst der Fuge (“The Art of the Fugue”) is better known for not being played at all. Bach left his last work — a 14-part exploration of and testament to the fundamental element of counterpoint in his compositional practice — unfinished, left it without even an indication of what instrument (or instruments) it was written for. It’s been recorded on harpsichord, piano, and organ; by string quartets; by chamber orchestras — but it’s seldom done live. It’s just too difficult. Emmanuel solved this problem by having it played by 13 distinguished pianists, all of whom donated their services to benefit Emmanuel Music. The honor roll, in order of appearance: Sergey Schepkin (who played both the quiet first fugue and the staggeringly complex last fugue, which begins with a return of the hushed opening theme), Robert Merfeld, Sally Pinkas, John Harbison, Bruce Brubaker, Michael Lewin, Katherine Chi, Judith Gordon, Yehudi Wyner, Ya-Fei Chuang, Robert Levin, Leslie Amper, and Randall Hodgkinson.

Given the nature of the work itself, and Bach’s architectonic mastery, the evening was an intense and complex experience, moving and meditative — but also, given Bach’s range of effect and affect, enormously enjoyable, even, in parts, fun. Each pianist was well suited to the section he or she chose or was assigned: Schepkin’s poetic delicacy; Chi’s combination of clarity (you could hear every line in one of the most challenging of all the fugues and canons), elegance, and solemnity; Harbison’s textured inwardness; Gordon’s intellectual and physical energy; Wyner’s whirlwind rhythmic passion; Chuang’s lightness of touch; Levin’s dramatic urgency.

Yet despite all the individual, sometimes quirky differences, what emerged was mysteriously unified. For nearly two hours, the Emmanuel audience listened rapt as Bach kept pushing the limits of what he could do, of his own understanding. And when Schepkin finally broke off where Bach did, mid phrase, you could almost hear a collective gasp.

Copyright © 2007 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group