Prix Serdang for Ariel Lanyi
Wolf/Lanyi, Schumann
Villa Serdang, Feldbrunnen SO, 2023-06-25
2023-07-02 — Original posting
Prix Serdang 2023 für Ariel Lanyi: Preisverleihung und Rezital — Zusammenfassung
Prix Serdang — Idee und Realisierung
Prix Serdang 2023 — Preisübergabe
Preisträgerretizal
Nach der Präsentation des Preises, der Laudatio durch Rudolf Buchbinder, und der Preisübergabe gab Ariel Lanyi ein Rezital, welches er mit fünf Liedern aus dem Italienischen Liederbuch (HWW 159) von Hugo Wolf (1860 – 1903) eröffnete. Es handelte sich um meisterhafte, freie Transkriptionen des Preisträgers, welche nicht nur den Geist der Lieder ausgezeichnet erfassten, sondern auch die Nähe des Komponisten zu Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883) treffend zum Ausdruck brachten.
Table of Contents
Introduction
| Venue, Date & Time | Villa Serdang, Feldbrunnen SO, 2023-06-25 11:00h |
| Series / Title | Prix Serdang 2023 — Award Ceremony & Recital, Ariel Lanyi |
| Organizer | Villa Serdang, Feldbrunnen PR Agency: 2 dream Productions |
Prix Serdang 2023
Location / Venue
The Prix Serdang is named after the place ot its inception, the stately mansion Villa Serdang in Feldbrunnen, close to a baroque capital, the city of Solothurn. The Villa Serdang was originally built in 1644. In 1892 it was remodeled in the style of Art Nouveau (Jugendstil, Youth Style). In 2012, the patron of the arts and former entrepreneur Adrian Flury renovated the building and made it a venue for cultural encounters.
The mansion stands in the periphery of the village Feldbrunnen, amidst a generous park that is surrounded by old trees, dominated by an impressive Ginkgo biloba. While the mansion itself stands close to the street, the garden opens the view onto the nearby Jura mountain range in the north-west.
The Idea of a Prize for Emerging Piano Talents
During the years of the pandemic (2020/2021), Adrian Flury had the idea of donating a prize for young, emerging international pianists. However, the prize should not be the result of a competition. The patron stated that competitions are a torture for the contenders, requiring endless hours in preparations, stress during the contest, and disappointment for all but the top winners.
So, as initiator and patron, Adrian Flury cooperated with the project manager Thomas Pfiffner (managing director, Orpheum Foundation for the Support of Young Artists) in setting up what was to become the Prix Serdang. Thomas Pfiffner succeeded in gaining the cooperation of the Austrian pianist Rudolf Buchbinder (*1946).
The Inception of the Prix Serdang
Buchbinder shares the organizer’s aversion against traditional competitions. So, the proceedings for the Prix Serdang ended up being very simple and straightforward. There is no invitation, no (public) proposals, no application, no competition. It all happens “under the hood”. As curator, Rudolf Buchbinder simply and single-handedly (after thorough research) elects from a very small number of candidates that he considers the most prize-worthy talents.
Adrian Flury, Thomas Pfiffner, and Rudolf Buchbinder jointly take the ultimate decision about the prize winner. However, as Thomas Pfiffner explained in his introduction, both last year, as well as in 2023, the decision about the winner was easy, as Rudolf Buchbinder the choice consisted of one single, convincing proposal. This year’s Prix Serdang is the second instance of the award. The recipient of the Prix Serdang 2022 was the English pianist Martin James Bartlett (*1996).
The elected pianist receives the stately sum of CHF 50’000—unconditionally, “no strings attached”. The key idea is, to motivate, to support an artistic career—in brief: an investment in creative artistic work.
The Artist: Ariel Lanyi
For the Prix Serdang 2023, Rudolf Buchbinder elected the Israeli pianist Ariel Lanyi (*1997, see also Wikipedia). Ariel Lanyi grew up in Jerusalem. He started playing the piano at the very early age of 3 and gave his first public concert when he was 5. In his native town, the artist studied with the Georgian teacher Lea Agmon, as well as with Yuval Cohen. Ariel Lanyi moved to London, where he continued and completed his education at the Royal Academy of Music, studying with Hamish Milne (1939 – 2020) and lan Fountain (*1970).
As Rudolf Buchbinder explained in his laudatio (see the program below), Ariel Lanyi’s repertoire spans from Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) up to contemporary composers. Buchbinder mentioned the artist’s remarkable technique, his sensitive interpretations, particularly in his recordings of works by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827), Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849), and Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886), which received enthusiastic acclaim.
Beginnings of a Career
Ariel Lanyi caught the curator’s attention as prize winner at the Kissinger KlavierOlymp 2022 (International Music Festival Kissinger Sommer). Buchbinder was particularly impressed by Lanyi’s recordings of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, op.120, and of the Piano Sonata No.29 in B major, op.106 (“Hammerklavier“). Both are among the most demanding works in the entire piano repertoire. The curator mentioned that Ariel Lanyi is also a talented composer, whose first piano sonata from 2015 has been well-received.
Rudolf Buchbinder found Lanyi to be a wholehearted young man at a crucial point in his career. Lanyi gave the impression of a mature and authentic artist who sure will receive a pivotal impulse by the Prix Serdang.
Ariel Lanyi now lives in London.
Program
The Prix Serdang is awarded in the context of a prize winner recital—at Villa Serdang, obviously. The official program of the 2023 event was as follows:
- Greeting notes by the host and patron, Adrian Flury, and by Thomas Pfiffner
- Laudatio by Rudolf Buchbinder
- Presentation of the Prix Serdang 2023 to Ariel Lanyi
- Address by the artist, Ariel Lanyi
- Award Recital:
- Closing remarks
Setting
The award ceremony and recital took place in the concert room / salon in the ground floor of the mansion. It’s an approximately square room with baroque stucco decoration. Officially, the room holds up to 80 people. Here, however, there were just around 45 loosely arranged chairs.
This was a closed event (through invitation only). The audience consisted of around 36 people. Apart from people related to the organization, a major part of the attendees were members of the press, mostly from the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
The instrument was a mid-size grand piano (Steinway model B-211), prepared and tuned by Michel Ehrenbaum, Bachmann Pianos, Wetzikon.
Given the limited size of the venue, I selected a seat in the center of the last row (along the rear wall).
Concert & Review
Wolf/Lanyi: Italienisches Liederbuch (Italian Songbook), HWW 159 (Selection)
Composer & Work
The first, shorter part of the recital consisted of five songs from the Italienisches Liederbuch (Italian Songbook), HWW 159 by the Austrian composer Hugo Wolf (1860 – 1903). The Italian Songbook is a collection of 46 Lieder in two volumes. They were composed 1890/1891 (22 songs) and 1896 (24 songs), respectively. The (mostly short) songs are all based on poems by Paul Heyse (1830 – 1914).
Ariel Lanyi explained that he transcribed the songs himself. He briefly mentioned Hugo Wolf’s admiration for Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883)—an association that he feels most clearly in the song he transcribed first, the No.17 (volume I), “Und willst Du Deinen Liebsten sterben sehen”. He put this Lied into the center of his selection of five songs:
Volume I
13. Hoffährtig seid Ihr, schönes Kind (You are haughty, beautiful child)
15. Mein Liebster ist so klein, dass ohne Bücken (My sweetheart’s so small, that without bending down)
17. Und willst Du Deinen Liebsten sterben sehen (And if you would see your lover die)
Volume II
35. Benedeit die sel’ge Mutter (Blessed be your mother in heaven)
46. Ich hab’ in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen (I have one lover living in Penna)
English lines quoted from Oxford International Song Festival (also linked in the above list), translations © Richard Stokes, author of: The Book of Lieder (Faber); The Complete Songs of Hugo Wolf (Faber);
The Performance
The underlying poems define the tone, the attitude etc. in Wolf’s Lied compositions. In the piano transcription, the text itself is of course absent. It is not strictly required or necessary for the listener—particularly, as the audience did not know in advance which of the 46 songs Ariel Lanyi selected for his performance. I’m quoting the header lines merely for reference. The full song texts can be accessed via the links in the above list.
Key points of interest to me: how does the transcription (and Lanyi’s performance) balance the vocal part against the piano accompaniment? In the original, the latter often is busy enough already. And: does the transcription try “spelling out” the details of the language, the poems, or does it rather present the Lieder as “songs without words” which maybe modify or even expand their poetic content?
13. Hoffährtig seid Ihr, schönes Kind
Annotation: Lebhaft (lively), 4/4, ♩=152
A lively “opening movement”: short, yet multifaceted! Clearly, Ariel Lanyi’s focus was on the accompaniment, with the vocal part discreetly interwoven, only momentarily shining up in the few flashy, recitativic solo moments. Vividly “talking” through agogics / rubato—but without the dramatization that one finds in interpretations of the original.
Of course, without the actual text, and with the vocal line integrated into the piano part, the expression in spoken language, the drama in individual highlighted syllables makes no sense. Ariel Lanyi did not “recite the poem”. He rather tried to read the spirit of the music from the piano part. Only towards the end, the transcription turns more liberal, voice and accompaniment merged into one and the same, a brilliant synthesis.
15. Mein Liebster ist so klein, dass ohne Bücken
Annotation: Mäßig, nicht zu schnell (moderate, not too fast), 2/4, ♩=104
Unlike in No.13, which features a fairly “autonomous”, theme-based piano part, the accompaniment in Lied No.15 is dominated by regular quaver pattern. It leaves far more “room” for the narration in the vocal line. Ariel Lanyi still (naturally) played “from the viewpoint of the accompanist”. However, it was easy to follow the melody line, which told a story throughout the Lied, full of inner life, thoughts, and expression, hesitant, accelerating in a rich rubato. A true “Lied ohne Worte“!
17. Und willst Du Deinen Liebsten sterben sehen
Annotation: Langsam und getragen (slow, measured), 4/4, ♩=54
Not surprisingly (given the artist’s introductory remarks!), this turned out to be the highlight of the set: highly romantic, intense, with soothing harmonies, almost like a direct quote from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.
This transcription now appears to focus almost entirely on the vocal line, although the (chordal) accompaniment of the original is enriched by beautiful arpeggios and cadenza-like expansions: longing, wistful love, expressive and touching to the extreme. Ariel Lanyi’s transcription by far surpasses Hugo Wolf’s original: masterful!
35. Benedeit die sel’ge Mutter
Annotation: Ruhige Viertelbewegung (calm motion in the crotchets), 4/4, ♩=69
A transcription where the focus alternates between the melody (e.g., initially) and the accompaniment (with the melody retaining presence, but more embedded in the original piano part). Serene, calm and reflective at the beginning—and again in the last part.
The central part, though, builds up in expression and motion, culminating in the leidenschaftlich und etwas drängend (passionate and somewhat urgent). Here, Ariel Lanyi takes off from the original, expanding into rich arpeggios (also enlarging the tonal range) into a short, free fantasy, based on Hugo Wolf’s harmonies: excellent, another highlight in the set!
46. Ich hab’ in Penna einen Liebsten wohnen
Annotation: Sehr schnell und munter (very fast and jolly), 4/4, ♩=160
Jolly, indeed, even joking? A short fun piece, a last dance of sorts.
When Hugo Wolf wrote his second volume of the Italian Songbook, he was suffering from syphilis that affected him both physically, as well as mentally. Just a year later, he fell into syphilitic insanity, which ruined and soon ended his productivity as composer. It’s interesting that under these circumstances, Hugo Wolf ended with a poem that (with reversed signs) appears to imitate Leporello’s aria “Madamina, il catalogo è questo” from the opera Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791).
Summary
Ariel Lanyi’s transcription of these five Lieder is excellent, even masterful. Not because they faithfully reproduce Hugo Wolf’s song compositions (which they don’t), but for what the transcriptions make out of Wolf’s originals. Lanyi does far more than just merge melody and accompaniment: he builds upon the atmosphere, the spirit in Wolf’s Lieder (without re-interpreting the underlying poems, I think). And he often enriches, occasionally surpasses Wolf’s original.
The one “hair in the soup” in the performance experience: even though I was sitting in the last row, as far from the piano as possible, in f, ff, and above, the instrument seemed too loud for the size of the venue (even though it was not a full-size concert grand). I understand that the artist meant to “give his best”, demonstrating his technical and musical ability—touch, articulation, sonority and control. Asking him to close the lid, or half-muting the tone was out of question. And adding acoustic panels would have ruined the optics of the beautiful, baroque room. The one saving grace: some 20 minutes into the recital, the listener’s ear adapted to the situation, and over-acoustics no longer was an issue. Other listeners confirmed this impression.
Schumann: Symphonic Etudes in C♯ minor, op.13
Composer & Work
Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856) started composing his Symphonic Etudes in C♯ minor, op.13 in 1834, at age 24. Initially, this was a theme and 16 variations on a theme by Baron von Fricken. Schumann supplemented this with an extra variation on an unrelated theme by Heinrich Marschner (1795 – 1861): the Romance “Du stolzes England freue dich” (Proud England, rejoice!), from the opera Der Templer und die Jüdin.
Schumann considered various titles for the publication, some referring to the contrasting characters Florestan and Eusebius that he referred to in his op.6, the Davidsbündlertänze. However, in the final publication as Études Symphoniques, op.13 in 1837, Schumann eliminated five of the original variations. This left the theme and twelve Études, out of which 9 are variations of the original theme, and the last piece was the original Finale based on Marschner’s theme:
- Theme – Andante
- Etude I (Variation 1)
- Etude II (Variation 2)
- Etude III
- Etude IV (Variation 3)
- Etude V (Variation 4)
- Etude VI (Variation 5)
- Etude VII (Variation 6)
- Etude VIII (Variation 7)
- Etude IX
- Etude X (Variation 8)
- Etude XI (Variation 9)
- Etude XII (Finale, based on Marschner’s theme)
The Études Symphoniques are among Robert Schumann’s technically most challenging works for piano.
Reintegration of the “Missing” Variations
In 1890, Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897) re-published Schumann’s op.13, now including the omitted variations. The latter are now referred to as “5 Variations, op.posth.“. Older recordings of the op.13 just feature the set from 1837. More recently, though, the extra variations are often included as well, whereby pianists place them within the original set according to their personal preference. In his recital, Ariel Lanyi used the following arrangement:
- Theme – Andante
- Etude I (Variation 1) – Un poco più vivo
- Etude II (Variation 2) – Andante
- Etude III – Vivace
- Etude IV (Variation 3) – Allegro marcato
- Etude V (Variation 4) – Scherzando
- Variation I op.posth. – Andante, tempo del tema
- Variation II op.posth. – Meno mosso
- Variation III op.posth. – Allegro
- Variation IV op.posth. – Allegretto
- Etude VI (Variation 5) – Agitato
- Etude VII (Variation 6) – Allegro molto
- Etude VIII (Variation 7) – Sempre marcatissimo
- Etude IX – Presto possibile
- Etude X (Variation 8) – Allegro con energia
- Etude XI (Variation 9) – Andante espressivo
- Variation V op.posth. – Moderato
- Etude XII (Finale, based on Marschner’s theme) – Allegro brillante
The Performance
In the Wolf Lied transcriptions, a major part of my attention was on Ariel Lanyi’s adaptation, i.e., on what he made of Wolf’s songs as a composer. Schumann’s Études Symphoniques are “familiar territory”, and so, the attention turned towards the pianist and his interpretation / performance.
Theme —
Ariel Lanyi approached the melancholic, introverted theme with absolute calm, with gently breathing dynamics. His legato playing exposed the beautiful sonority (especially in the low bass) and excellent tuning of the instrument.
Études I – II
The artist maintained the warm and rounded sonority also in the Études. In Étude I, I noted the careful touch and agogics, the absence of superficialities or rushed passages, the harmonious, gentle dynamic arches.
This continued in Étude II. Here, the artist let the sonority grow in the broad arches with their dense chordal textures. In the intense ff climaxes, the sonority again appeared to exceed the capacity of the venue—even though the playing was no way near “keyboard thundering”. Luckily, this is the last time where my notes “complained” about excess sonority—my ears were gradually adapting to the situation.
Études III – V
The “non-variation” Étude III exhibited the excellent combination of the light staccato articulation in the broken chord demisemiquaver figures in the right hand and the melodious legato voices in the left hand. The f outburst in the first bars of the second part harmoniously grew out of this pp study.
The quasi-staccato Étude IV demonstrated the artist’s clean, precise touch, and again excellent dynamics control in the sf accents: marcato, but effortless, still light. This seamlessly transitioned into Étude V: concise, light and playful in its punctuated staccato figures.
Variations I – IV (op.posth.)
Some of the “extra” variations made me suspect why Schumann removed these pieces from the published edition of the Études Symphoniques. In the first half of Variation I, for example, the demisemiquaver figures in the descant almost suffocate over the melody / theme in the bass. The first bars of the second part are easier to balance, as the demisemiquavers now are in the left hand, the theme chordal and in the descant.
Variation II is technically tricky, requiring great independence between the hands: rhapsodic, broad arches. Musically, though (i.e., as a composition), it felt slightly less coherent than the “official” studies. This applies even more to Variation III, which is equally technically demanding.
Variation IV is an extended lyrical, expressive intermezzo of sorts. As a composition, it felt like the best, the most compelling and most beautiful so far among the “op.posth.” variations.
Études VI – VII
One might call Étude VI a “pianistically brilliant showpiece”—however, in Ariel Lanyi’s interpretation, one tended to ignore the technical challenges: it all seemed effortless. As a composition, it clearly is much more coherent than the preceding variations from the “op.posth.” set.
The following Étude VII is another technical challenge. It formed a grandiose climax.
On a sideline: in Ariel Lanyi’s hands, the Steinway B-211 offered excellent, beautiful sonority. However, I could not resist thinking that a period instrument from the first half of the 19th century would not only offer vastly more richness in colors for Schumann’s music, but would also have been the far better fit (in terms of volume) for the size of this venue.
Études VIII – XI
In its “baroque attitude”, Étude VIII formed a strong contrast. With the marked (marcatissimo), double-punctuated rhythm, it sound like a new start in the style of a French overture. Ariel Lanyi avoided the danger of rigidity, by using agogics and allowing for gentler, more mellow moments.
The Étude IX—one of the shortest in the set—featured brilliant playing in the highly virtuosic staccato triplets, leading to an almost ghastly p ending.
The subsequent Étude X is even more virtuosic. However, despite the big sonority, Ariel Lanyi did not present this as a showpiece, but with very differentiated, careful articulation and dynamics
Étude XI: Beautiful and atmospheric, with the two (often canon-like) melodious voices in the descant, which felt like a nocturne-like Eusebius piece. The left hand, however, with its continuous demisemiquaver figures, makes this an intricate technical challenge. The artist managed to retain the dreamy nocturne atmosphere, through subtle, differentiated agogics and rhythmic independence in the right hand: excellent!
Variation V (op.posth.)
Ariel Lanyi’s interpretation and performance seemed to grow with the increasing technical challenges in Schumann’s Études! The last one of the “op.posth.” variations actually is a beautiful, serene masterpiece—definitely a Eusebius piece! The melody in the descant is woven into a constant flow of wave-like semiquaver figures, above warm, calmly ascending bass motifs in the left hand. Another opportunity to enjoy the pianist’s mastery in dynamics and touch.
Étude XII (Finale)
Marschner’s familiar, fanfare-like theme felt like “coming home”. This last piece is a true, multi-faceted masterpiece (the stroke of a genius!) in extended Rondo-form, with numerous mood / tempo changes. Ariel Lanyi resisted the temptation to blow up the Finale with pathos, excess grandeur, or pomp. Here, the theme was indeed brilliant, but retained elegance and a certain lightness. The artist seamlessly linked the contrasting segments with harmonious transitions and big dramatic arches. A compelling interpretation with exceptional coherence—congratulations!
Encore — Beethoven: Bagatelle in A major, op.33/4
After the big gestures, the technical challenges in Schumann’s Études symphoniques, Ariel Lanyi offered a calm, peaceful encore: the Bagatelle No.4 in A major from the Seven Bagatelles, op.33, composed 1801/1802 by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827).
The encore proved an excellent choice—a beautiful way to end this recital! In the artist’s rendition, it was intimate, peaceful, almost naïve in the outer parts—yet with moments of depth and reflection in the central A minor part.
General Notes & Conclusion
In his performance, Ariel Lanyi never made attempts to show off: no spectacular gestures, little, if any facial mimics—just focus, concentration, immersion into the music. While playing, the artist never was seeking eye contact with the audience. And when he addressed the audience, he seemed modest, calm, unspectacular, without signs of nervousness or stage anxiety. Nothing to distract the listener from music and from the artist’s performance / interpretation.
Ariel Lanyi proved an excellent and worthy choice for the Prix Serdang 2023 — a promising artist with outstanding perspectives for a successful international career: a pianist to watch out for in the coming years (and hopefully more)!
Acknowledgements
The author would like to express his gratitude to Jacqueline Haberl, 2 dream Productions, and to Thomas Pfiffner for the invitation to this event. Photo credits (see the photo legends for detail):
- Ariel Lanyi: Kaupo Kikkas
- Rudolf Buchbinder: Marco Borggreve
- Villa Serdang (building, park): Villa-Serdang
- Award recital: Thomas Entzeroth, Drahtzugstrasse 51, CH-8008 Zürich
- Composer portraits: for source and copyright information see associated title / legend.
