Pianist Cristiana Pegoraro

MUSICAL POT POURRI AT SPRING LAKE VILLAGE RECITAL

Spring Lake Village’s Concert Series tend to be short one hour events, often with a pot pourri of works, and Jan. 31 found Italian pianist Cristiana playing 15 works in a concise and novel group format.

In a rare standing room only concert for 150 SLV residents, Ms. Pegoraro’s charming spoken introductions prefaced four groups of mostly transcriptions, beginning with slam bang reading of her version of Rossini’s Barber of Seville (Largo al Factotum) and concluding with a raucous damper-pedal-always down transcription of Piazzolla’s popular Libertango.

The large audience helped to muffle the notoriously bright flat hard floor acoustics, and the more lyrical selections fared best – Schumann’s Träumerei, Schubert/Liszt’s Ständchen, a speedy Beethoven Für Elise and the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria.

A highlight came at the program’s conclusion with three of the pianist’s original works – The Wind and the Sea, Colors of Love and Sailing Away. Here there was ample tenderness, deft phrasing, long melodic lines and often syrupy emotional messages that reminded one of splendid movie background music.

Ms. Pegoraro’s reworking of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy (final movement in his D Minor Symphony) was sonorous and effective, and good to hear played on the piano.

A standing ovation ensued after the last notes of the Libertango, and the gracious artist mingled with the appreciative audience.