Olga Kern and the Colorado Symphony

One of the reasons I like to hear Olga Kern perform is that she is not only a phenomenal pianist, she is also a first rate musician. Many people may think those two terms are synonymous, but they are not. Being a musician means that she has the knowledge and ability to understand what the composer wants, and perhaps even more important, is that she puts the music first and foremost, and places her pianism second. That is what all great performers do whether they be pianists, violinists, or singers. Because of this, I rank her with the recent great pianists such as Sviatislav Richter, John Browning, and Arthur Rubinstein. All of these pianists used their technical ability to show the public what the music is all about, and what the composer wanted to say. I do not have to point out that this is hallowed ground indeed, but I have heard her perform several times now, and I have been truly astounded at her mental prowess, as well as her technical ability at the keyboard. I sometimes find myself wondering if the general concert going public, who loves good music, has any idea of the mental effort it takes to learn and perform such a monstrous piece as the Rachmaninoff Third Piano Concerto, let alone the fact that she is performing all of the Rachmaninoff concertos here in Denver. Do not think for a minute that simply because she is Russian that she automatically knows how to play Rachmaninoff. Simpatico has nothing to do with it. She is an astounding musician as well as an astounding pianist.

Robin McNeil lives with his wife in Littleton where he teaches piano privately and continues to do research on the French composer Théodore Gouvy and the Medieval Mass. McNeil is an honorary member of the Institut Théodore Gouvy of Hombourg-Haut, France; president of the Piano Arts Association; and a member of the Henry Bradshaw Society (for the preservation and publication of rare liturgical documents). Read more of his work at OpusColorado.com.