Hi °C | Lo °C Nikolai Demidenko gave the last concert of the Ulster Orchestra’s excellent Chopin Festival on Sunday in Belfast. His second solo recital on Sunday was a fitting climax to the two weekends of the festival.
Demidenko never draws attention to himself but focuses the audience’s concentration on the music. He draws you into the decorative flourishes of the ornamentation as equally as he delineates the unfolding of the melodies.
At all times, Demidenko pays due regard to the beauty of the sound he produces. Despite the technical demands, the audience is never overwhelmed by torrents of notes. Above all, he understands the myriad colourings and shadings which make up the delicate weave of Chopin’s masterpieces.
Nothing is out of place, each line is allowed to follow it own musical logic, each disparate episode flows effortlessly into the next.
Above all, Demidenko understands the myriad colourings and shadings which make up the delicate weave of Chopin’s masterpieces. His central position in the Chopin festival was an inspired idea Mr Byers!
Who’s going to be the choice for the Liszt celebrations next year, I wonder?
RATHCOL
