Pianist Frank Wiens

WIENS AND CHOPIN ARE EASY FRIENDS IN GUALALA CONCERT

Nov. 14th’s recital at Gualala’s Chamber Arts Series had all the ease and heartfelt caring of old friends sharing an afternoon together.

There was Frank Wiens, an internationally known pianist and Professor at Stockton's University of the Pacific. There was an audience ready to welcome him back to the coast for a fourth appearance. And there was Chopin, as vital today with his Mazurkas, Ballades and Preludes as he ever has been since his birth in 1810, 200 years ago.

Mr. Wiens opened the concert with four Chopin Mazurkas; compositions that, in the current vernacular, represent repurposed folk dances. Ranging from slow and hesitant to lively and ornamental, the melodies explored interesting nooks and crannies of mood and the basic mazurka rhythms.

The Scherzo in B minor, Opus 20, opened with fortissimo chords which it returned to each time the audience just might have become too relaxed. Fast and slow by turns, I would have liked more cantabile in the center section, but Wiens was sure of his technique and expression. Chopin's Nocturne in F# Major, Opus 15, No.2, and his Impromptu in F# Major, Opus 36, were presented as a pair of lovely runs over melodic bases, lots of left-hand work, and a sense that the world is a beautiful place.

The concert's first half concluded with Ballade in F minor, Opus 52. Chopin's Fourth Ballade contains changes of key, tempo and mood to keep the listener alert and involved. Under Wiens' dexterous fingers there was no slacking of attention.

Post intermission was filled with Chopin's 24 Preludes, Opus 28. Opening with my favorite C Major with its barcarole-like composition, the program took us through moods serious and light, familiar and mysterious. There were loons on the lake of the D Major, the flowery breezes of the F# minor, the rollicking humor of the B minor, and sounds reminiscent of the rural pastures and forests of Poland.

But despite the pleasures of the Preludes from an interpreter such as Wiens, they weren't quite enough. So the concert and afternoon ended, and friends departed, after a familiar and appreciated C# Minor Waltz.