Artistry At the Piano

On Saturday, October 3, Professor Hans Boepple performed in a solo recital here at SCU. In a word, it was AWESOME! His technique was fluid, and virtually effortless while his style was elegant, and smooth, with a pleasant romanticism tempered by years of experience at the keyboard.

Starting with a Beethoven sonata, Professor Boepple captured the composer’s emotional honesty, sense of drama, exciting shifts in dynamics and characteristic rhythmic drive. Next, he played a rather atonal and difficult to grasp sonata by Barber. It was interesting, because amidst the seemingly incoherent sequence of dissonant notes, one could detect a sort of hidden melodic line. After the intermission, the Professor played a wonderful rendition of Chopin’s Barcarolle (I particularly appreciate his moderate use of rubato which created a sense of spontaneity while still maintaining the piece's architectural solidity) and then he concluded with a set of pieces by Liszt which showcased both the composer’s and the performer’s impeccable pianistic abilities. After hitting the final chord, the audience applauded thunderously and received a total of three encores from Professor Boepple. The first two were Etudes from Chopin’s opus 25 set. The last piece of the night was an intermezzo by Brahms which the Professor dedicated in memory of his late Mother-in-law (and his dedication is an outward sign of his benevolence since typically most people don't seem to demonstrate such fondness for their mothers-in-law). In the future, I (as well as many others I am sure) look forward to hearing more from SCU's very own Professor Boepple.

- Anton