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FORT WORTH -- The Cliburn Concerts series opened its season Tuesday night in Bass Hall after a last-minute change of plans. The French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie, who was to have played an all-Liszt program, became ill and had to pull out.
In his place appeared 17-year-old prodigy Conrad Tao, playing an entirely different program.
The audience was skimpy, probably because many wanted Lortie and Liszt and had no idea who Tao is. Too bad. They missed a spectacular program.
Lortie was going to play the first two "years" of Liszt's Years of Pilgrimage, a work rarely heard in live recital in that big a chunk (each "year" contains a number of relatively short works).
Tao's substantial program was more in line with what you would hear in the Cliburn Competition: familiar works that are generally appealing and allow the pianist to demonstrate his or her technique and perhaps a sense of style and artistry as well.
Tao's choices were the J.S. Bach Overture in the French Style, BWV 831; Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata; three Claude Debussy preludes; four Rachmaninoff preludes; and Igor Stravinsky's Three Movements From Petrouchka.
The often exuberant program was cleanly played and technically brilliant and imparted a sense of personality, though one might quibble here and there about stylistic matters.
The most Cliburn-Competition-like was the Stravinsky, which invariably shows up in the competition. It's a flashy, listenable work that lets the pianist show off his technique, which in Tao's case is impressive.
The Beethoven, another Cliburn staple, was given a propulsive performance (especially in the whizzing final measures) that could have used a bit more breathing room, though it was certainly dramatic enough.
The Rachmaninoff preludes were superbly played.
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