(Youtube video links below reviews, scroll down)

REVIEW  FANFARE MAGAZINE by Huntley Dent – Colin Clarke  (R)

The first Piazzolla piece, El mundo de los dos, is given an unhurried performance that begins with chords of Chopinesque clouds that carry with them a tension that continuously threatens to explode out. This is a remarkable performance, sustained perfectly. That splendid sense of line is heard in the melodies in the tenor register

REVIEW  FANFARE MAGAZINE by Huntley Dent – Colin Clarke  R

in “IMPERIAL TANGO” before its proud, chordal climax, crowned by a splendid upward glissando. Antonelli manages to convey a near-improvized aura…”

REVIEW  FANFARE MAGAZINE by Huntley Dent – Colin Clarke    R

“ADIOS NONINO” fully convinces in Antonelli’s hands because of her uncompromising belief in the music coupled with her ability to use music to tell a story. There is never any doubt of the narrational aspect of this music…”

REVIEW  FANFARE MAGAZINE by Huntley Dent – Colin Clarke     R

ANTONELLI In “GRANADA,” by Albeniz, itself in a powerful performance with an astonishing singing, almost Chopinesque treble melody…”

REVIEW  FANFARE MAGAZINE by Huntley Dent – Colin Clarke (ESPERANZA CD)

“Antonelli manages to convey a near-improvized aura to “MILONGA DEL ANGEL”, a trait that simply underlines the power of the small silences and breaks in the musical surface…”

REVIEW  FANFARE MAGAZINE by Huntley Dent – Colin Clarke     E

In “CHAU PARIS” she displays a gift for immediate communication, drawing the audience into a musical world whose air she breathes intimately, as De Larrocha breathed the air of Spain…”

REVIEW  FANFARE MAGAZINE by Huntley Dent – Colin Clarke

In GINASTERA, “DANZA DEL GAUCHO MATRERO” Antonelli meets the technical challenges with confidence and navigates bold rhythmic shifts with the ease of someone who has deeply absorbed Ginastera’s idiom

REVIEW  FANFARE MAGAZINE by Huntley Dent – Colin Clarke   RF

“In Chopin’s Op. posth Nocturnes, No. 20 in C-sharp Minor – ANTONELLI delivered with real finesse and an instinct for the genre…”

Both this review and that of the recital from Carnegie Hall act as combined testament to the talents of Rosa Antonelli. While in the Carnegie Hall recital she carefully underlines points of correspondence between the Chopin Nocturne and pieces by Piazzolla (perhaps even extending the analogy in her performance of Piazzolla’s Sentido único, where the musical language seemed to point at times towards Skryabin’s “Black Mass” sonata), here at Steinway Hall we are immersed in the music of Latin America.

The first Piazzolla piece, El mundo de los dos, is given an unhurried performance that begins with chords of Chopinesque clouds that carry with them a tension that continuously threatens to explode out. This is a remarkable performance, sustained perfectly. That splendid sense of line is heard in the melodies in the tenor register in Imperial Tango before its proud, chordal climax, crowned by a splendid upward glissando. Antonelli manages to convey a near-improvized aura to Milonga del ángel, a trait that simply underlines the power of the small silences and breaks in the musical surface.

The familiar Libertango smoulders brilliantly; so much so, one might not notice the clarity of texture even in the darkness of the work’s lower register opening. Even in this familiar piece, Antonelli manages to convey a sense of freshness alongside the underlying impression of unshakable, granitic power. Hearing the saturated regret of Adios Nonino fully convinces in Antonelli’s hands because of her uncompromising belief in the music coupled with her ability to use music to tell a story. There is never any doubt of the narrational aspect of this music.

The perhaps lesser-known composer Ángel Lasala contributes an intriguing “Romancero,” almost mystical in its secrets. I see Lasala’s Piano Trio No. 1, “De las serranias” appears on a Piscitelli disc entitled Argentina Su Musica, Volume 2; how fascinating that might be. Certainly Antonelli titillates in the “Romancero,” relishing every scrumptious dissonance. It holds its own, anyway, against Albéniz’ far more famous “Granada,” itself in a powerful performance with an astonishing singing, almost Chopinesque treble melody.

The Ginastera items reveal the more interior side of this composer’s expressive palette, from the expressive Idilio Crepuscular(a piece near-orchestral in its writing) to the tender “Danza del trigo” (Wheat Dance) from Estancia.

A terrific set of streaming videos to enjoy, then, from a pianist who deserves to be a major name. The recordings are well managed, and the video facet enables us to revel in Antonelli’s concentration as well as to admire the solid technique that underpins her mission to bring this music to the world. Colin Clarke

As the foremost champion of Latin American piano music in this country, if not the world, the accomplished Argentinian pianist Rosa Antonelli has developed her own personal style. This is a natural outcome, especially when it comes to the tango, where half the mystery derives from unspoken passion, sexual tension, and implied violence. But as Antonelli displays in these live videos, those well-known qualities, which are tied to the tango’s erotic appeal, shouldn’t mask the poetry that is so often brought out by the master of nuevo tango, Astor Piazzolla. Listening to her inward and emotionally intense performances, I began to feel increased respect for Piazzolla’s genius—he did nothing less for the tango than Chopin did for the mazurka and polonaise.

At bottom, Chopin heard rhythmic subtleties in the mazurka, which had many local variants in traditional Polish culture, and each nuance implied emotional shades he expressed with almost microscopic finesse. Piazzolla took the familiar tango rhythm and turned it a hundred different ways, shading the feeling of the dance almost beyond measure. To a performer as imaginative as Antonelli, the hidden potential even of Piazzolla tangos that are among his greatest hits—Libertango, Adiós Nonino, Milonga del ángel—is freshly unfolded.

In general her style is to be more soulful and often slower than other interpreters. In El mundo de los dos, she takes over 3 min. to evoke the deep feeling in a languorous melody that other pianists skip through in 2 min. or less, generally emphasizing the continuous rhythm in the left hand over the melody. The specialness of Antonelli’s reading of the improvisational, jazz-inflected Adiós Nonino is brought out by comparison with Daniel Barenboim’s rendition (on a Teldec/Warner CD with a title that brought a smile, Zeit Für Tangos). Barenboim’s light touch and air of suave sophistication contrasts vividly with Antonelli’s more emotional, even wrenching interpretation—she makes this farewell to a beloved father much more memorable.

Piazzolla’s self-communing side is emphasized here, but there is also a grander aim in a work like Imperial Tango, which looks to the Lisztian platform tradition, infused with Latin rhythms Liszt never experienced, presumably. Antonelli captures the display of the piece perfectly, making it a rival to a Chopin Ballade. We’re being reminded that South American composers almost always had dual personalities, looking one way to their native cultures and another way to Paris (where Piazzolla studied with Nadia Boulanger). Albéniz reached his height as a composer after he moved to Paris; here, however, we get Granada, a serenade from Suite Española, written in Madrid in 1886 by a 26-year-old with a royal grant in hand. A lovely romantic melody in the left hand is accompanied by rather mechanical guitar strumming in the right. Antonelli does full justice to the ardor and expressive freedom of the piano writing.

I tend to associate Ginastera with the rowdier, rougher side of Argentine music, but the Danza del trigo (Wheat Dance) from his ballet Estancia sounds like a Latin variant on a Tchaikovsky Adagio pas de deux, building in intensity as it unfolds. Similar in feeling but with gestures closer to early Debussy is the languidly attractive Romancero by Ángel Lasala (1914 – 2000), an Argentinian composer unknown to me; it is part of Antonelli’s cultural mission to performe more obscure South Americans. Here the basis is a dance, as with everything on the program, but the intention to write a European-style character piece is also evident.

This 2016 recital was given to benefit The Lambs, a professional theater organization with a long tradition, going back to 1874 in New York. The original social club was founded in London in 1868 and named after poet Charles Lamb and his sister Mary. The video and sound quality of these performances is good, although there is evidence of their amateur origins at the concert. Certainly the piano sound is full and lifelike. I had been impressed by Antonelli’s 2015 CD for Albany (reviewed in Fanfare 39:2 by me and in 39:3 by Colin Clarke), which features very little overlap with the present program and is equally impressive. As both a notably accomplished pianists and a cultural ambassador, Antonelli makes a very favorable impression. But it’s her deep personal immersion in this music that magnetizes and holds your attention.

As an adjunct to the main review of a complete recital to benefit The Lambs in New York City, here are four mementos of Rosa Antonelli’s Carnegie Hall recital in 2011.  The highly accomplished Argentine pianist plays to strength in dances by Ginastera and Piazzolla, but it’s good to be reminded that a champion of South American composers also has wider musical interests. We get one of Chopin’s opus posthumous Nocturnes, No. 20 in C-sharp Minor, and its melting melody is delivered with real finesse and an instinct for the genre. Actually, since Antonelli approaches the slow tangos of Piazzolla with empathy for their melancholy, she’s naturally attuned to Chopin. The A-B-A form of this Nocturne features syncopation in the middle section that Antonelli hearkens back to Buenos Aires in hints of rhythm and accent.

In the three Argentine works she displays a gift for immediate communication, drawing the audience into a musical world whose air she breathes intimately, as De Larrocha breathed the air of Spain. Chau, París, composed around 1960, is Piazzolla’s farewell to the city where he had lived and studied; it is extracted from Four Tangos. Sentido único comes from the same series, but the two pieces are a study in contrasts. Piazzolla’s goodbye to Paris strongly, purely asserts its roots in Argentina, while Sentido único adds a layer of virtuoso improvisation more reminiscent of an outpouring from Chopin or a jazz pianist—we are reminded of how creatively Piazzolla incorporated diverse musical elements into his style of nuevo tango.

Even more virtuosic is the selection from Ginastera’s Danzas Argentinas. Composed in 1937, the three dances depict aspects of gaucho life on the Pampas. Here we get the “Dance of the Arrogant Gaucho,” a rough ride that features expression markings like furiosamente (furiously), violente (violent), mordento (biting), and salvaggio (wild). These justify a powerful ostinato drive, flirtations with 12-tone, dissonant, and chromatic passages, ending on ffff and a furious glissando. Antonelli meets the technical challenges with confidence and navigates bold rhythmic shifts with the ease of someone who has deeply absorbed Ginastera’s idiom.

Carnegie Hall’s publishing policies permitted only these four video excerpts from a 2011 recital that brought Antonelli to the stage of Stern Auditorium. Even for a pianist with more than a thousand concerts to her credit, this was a rare opportunity, and I’d imagine also the most prominent showcase that South American piano music has had in New York. The audio and video quality are excellent. I’ve heard the complete recital and wish that somehow it can get released in the future. The live setting adds extra scintillation to Antonelli’s playing.  Huntley Dent

PIAZZOLLA El mundo de los dos    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNqpIL6rAUU&t=2s

Imperial Tango    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBM1IJVtNZ8

Milonga del ángel    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7K49djqHvc

Libertango    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVOoRUNtbtE

Adiós Nonino    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU7A7PmZ6AE

LASALA Preludios Nacionales: No. 4, Romancero    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1wUtTnLqUI&t=8s

ALBÉNIZ Suite Española: Granada    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CMwHi7lVY4

GINASTERA Estancia: Danza del trigo    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p70VeGHAJLo

Idilio Crepuscular    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBZlw_Xuw0s&t=1s