MA CONG, pianist City Hall Theatre Sunday, June 2 Young pianist Ma Cong did things upside-down. His one encore was Chopin's C Major Etude, played with all the brilliance it deserved. Had Ma played a whole evening of etudes, his concert would have been a triumph instead of a rather curious series of interpretations.
Ma's talent lies in his fingers. He is a superb digital technician, and can run through the most difficult Bach allemande or the presto variation of a late Beethoven sonata like it's child's play. Nary an error could be heard, never a note out of place.
It is, briefly, the kind of talent where the most difficult pianistic studies could be as exciting as the deepest Beethoven sonatas.
That, unfortunately, was also the weakness of the programme. Whether out of nervousness (and he didn't seem terribly nervous on the surface) or whether he simply wanted to whizz through his work, Ma showed neither colour nor breadth in works which deserved both.
The opening Bach Fifth Partita on a harpsichord might have a sameness of timbre, but the dancing tempos must be contrasted.
On Ma's Steinway, any number of colours could be achieved, and the different movements are in sharp contrast.