His beautifully palindromic evening opened and closed with individual pieces by Debussy - “La plus que lente,” an urbane waltz and luxurious amuse-bouche “L’isle joyeux,” a histrionic close - flanking two Debussy collections, the three evocative vignettes of “Estampes” (Prints) and the six pieces of the “Children’s Corner” suite.Īt the evening’s heart were the four Chopin ballades, presented, in a canny piece of programming, on either side of intermission, two before and two after. In his current recital program, which he’s playing all over the United States and Europe this spring - it comes to Carnegie Hall on May 9 - Hough chose to stick almost entirely (apart from one encore) to music by Chopin and Debussy, two pivotal composers for the piano. There was no need to do anything, on this evening, other than sit back and appreciate whatever the pianist wanted to show us. A few minutes into Stephen Hough’s excellent Washington Performing Arts recital at the Terrace Theater on Thursday night - partway through Debussy’s “Estampes” - I felt inner tensions relaxing within my body. It’s a wonderful feeling to put yourself wholly in the hands of a master.
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