Alim Beisembayev Stuns with Romantic Mastery: Intimate and Convincing Performance!

Tracing a journey from Schubert to Liszt via Chopin, Alim Beisembayev, the 2021 Leeds international piano competition champion from Kazakhstan, showcased a performance that spanned the fervent wave of Romanticism across approximately three decades, starting in the 1820s and culminating in 1853.

In his rendition of Schubert’s Moments Musicaux, D780, Beisembayev adopted a reserved and tranquil demeanor, possibly to set the stage for the dramatic contrast with the forthcoming Liszt pieces. Leveraging the superb acoustics of the Dora Stoutzker hall, he fostered a close atmosphere where Schubert’s seamless transitions between major and minor tones were subtly poignant. Notably, the two F minor Moments – the third, where melancholy and light-heartedness intermingle, and the fifth, marked by more intense emotional outbursts – seemed to foreshadow the key of Chopin’s Fantaisie, Op49.

Beisembayev demonstrated a natural knack for molding the extended, flowing melodies and capturing their inherent wistfulness in Chopin’s composition. The chromatic harmonies were meticulously executed, and his agile passages shimmered. Despite his composure and restrained stage presence – softened slightly by the sparkle of a lapel brooch – he delivered rapid flurries of notes with intense passion. It appeared he had embraced Schumann’s description of Chopin’s pieces as “cannon buried in flowers.”

The theme of F minor not only unified the first part of the concert but also linked to Liszt’s Sonata in B minor through the interval of a diminished fifth, historically known as the Diabolus in Musica. The sinister aspect of the sonata was evident from its enigmatic, soft beginning and the dynamic response that followed, reaching a peak in the tumultuous virtuoso sections.

Yet, it was Beisembayev’s precise navigation through Liszt’s shifts from stormy chaos to tranquil melodic interludes, along with his ability to sustain moments of silence, that revealed a maturity in interpretation aligning with the technical prowess he exhibited at the young age of 23 during his Leeds victory. This maturity was further highlighted in his encore, a Debussy piece that effortlessly transitioned into the 20th century – a fluid and exquisitely performed piece.