On Saturday 25 November, after the Arts in the Valley AGM, Luke Bowen performed a short piano recital with music by Percy Grainger, Robert Constable, Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. It was a program of miniatures of wide colour and texture, from delicacy to ferocity, with a dash of humour thrown in.
Luke, just 20, is establishing himself as a recitalist throughout the Shoalhaven, Illawarra and Southern Highlands. He performs frequently at St Jude’s, Bowral, and recently performed as a soloist with the Southern Highlands Symphony. Additionally, he is the 2024 winner of the Eva Pascoe award. For the last five years Luke has studied piano with local pianist and composer Robert Constable and combined this with biomedicine studies at the University of New England.
The recital opened with two pieces by Grainger (1882-1961), Handel in the Strand, followed by Grainger’s arrangement of the Gershwin’s classic The Man I love. Grainger was an ‘Australian boy made good’, a megastar on European, North American and Australian stages. He was a collector of English Folk Music and these days is best known for his worldwide and enduring hit ‘Country Gardens’. Handel in the Strand was initially titled ‘Clog Dance’, but the music evoked the style of George Frideric Handel. His image for the piece was of Handel careering down the Strand, the musical theatre precinct of London. This is a light piece, with sometimes percussive qualities which Luke was able to capture and communicate.
George Gershwin wrote the music for The Man I Love to be included in 1925 musical ‘Lady be Good’. Astonishingly, the song was removed after the first week’s performance due to poor audience response. Today, we recognise it as a jazz classic. Grainger himself felt it was the greatest song of all time. His arrangement only made minimal changes to Gershwin’s music, but added an introduction and extension to the ending. Here, Luke captured the timeless and haunting harmonies in a tempo that expressed and communicated their lushness. The audience responded with warm applause.
The next two pieces were composed by Robert Constable. Many of you may have had the pleasure of Robert’s improvised accompaniment to silent films, shown in the Kangaroo Valley Hall. The inspiration for these two pieces was the supper scene ‘Doreen’s ma thinks longingly of home’ from ‘The Sentimental Bloke’ (1919), and the chase scene at the end of the film ‘The Man from Kangaroo (1919), filmed in Kangaroo Valley with the hero, Snowy Baker, riding down the villain who is attempting to abduct Snowy’s love interest. Both pieces are loads of fun, with the chase scene requiring speed and agility of the fingers with a wide use of the keyboard. Luke met the technical demands cleanly and communicated the drama, so that we could all imagine ourselves, breathlessly to the rescue on the back of Snowy’s horse.
The next piece, Waltz in E Minor, was by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849). Written in 1830 when Chopin was only 20, it was not published until 1851, after his death. This piece is not a regular waltz, and is written in a modified rondo form, going for a little over three minutes. The challenge for the performer is not so much technical but expressivity. The arpeggios run slower and require good fingering and exact control of the tempo. Luke again was able to master these challenges and communicate the spirit of the composer.
The last two pieces are drawn from Franz Liszt’s (1811-1886) ‘Transcendental Études’, Preludio No 1 and Étude No 11, Harmonies Du Soir. The Preludio runs for only a minute but communicates a warning to whomever wants to play his études. It has a grandeur and brilliance with loud arpeggiated chords running up and down the keyboard, furious notes climbing even higher, with a driven intensity. Our hearts race, and the performer faces physical demands, in playing which Luke handled with vigour- a real test of stamina.
Harmonies du Soir is one of the longest études, running between nine and ten minutes, and has the features of a symphonic poem. The solo piano attempts to generate the sounds of an orchestra. It is a piece that is an artistic creation with its creative elements, musical structure and tremendous sound effects. After a relatively slow and quiet introduction, the piece builds to a middle section of rare beauty, finally arriving at a climax of repeated chords and jumping octaves in rapid succession. Power and passionate expression is showcased, demanding physical strength and vigour from the performer. The music grows quieter with an image of an evening walk at dusk. This final section has a density with the chords and harmonies creating a layering of sound and is technically challenging. The performer must create a thick and intense atmosphere whilst simultaneously avoiding a mechanical sound. In this piece we cover an enormous range of emotions and volcanic passion. Here the composer, through the colour and layering of the sound, evokes a vision.
In this recital Luke had to master a wide range of compositional styles and technical challenges. This he did with the added qualities of thoughtfulness, the ability to channel the composer’s intent and meeting the physical demands imposed by some of the pieces. Besides his fingers, his arms and upper body got a good workout. At the end Luke received enthusiastic applause and many sought him out to congratulate him on his performance.
