Themes of death, madness and redemption linked the Romantic works in Canadian’s recital, delivered with a mix of power, depth and delicacy
Given all the pianists out there who have been dubbed “poets of the keyboard”, the phrase has become a little tiresome. But its use is justified when applied to a musician of the calibre of 24-year-old Canadian pianist Tony Siqi Yun.
Musical poetry was front and centre in Yun’s self-curated recital at Hong Kong City Hall on June 4 of works whose themes include death, madness and redemption.
Yun began with Brahms’ lyrical Four Ballades Op. 10, which take a more literal approach to the genre than Chopin’s and were inspired by narrative poetry.
The recent Juilliard School graduate and winner of the first prize in the inaugural China International Music Competition in 2019 delved deep in the opening “Edward” Andante, which takes its dark subject from a Scottish poem about patricide, playing with power in its impassioned passages without sounding forced or percussive.
