CHUCHO VALDES & GONZALO RUBULCABA
Barbican 11th November 2017
Barbican 11th November 2017
The encore was ‘Caravan’ which came after an hour of intense Cuban skill and energy. Although they are a generation apart, the music that flowed from them was a part of the unceasing generosity of Cuban music and its influence on jazz. Valdes and Rubalcaba are two of the most visionary of the current practitioners. Valdes started the concert on the left hand piano and, initially, the sounds he brought out were almost Chopin. Cuba seemed a long way from both pianists. The build-up was slow but when it came it was explosive. Rubalcaba mischievously inserted a more rhythmic approach and impishly looked frequently over at Valdes, trying to gauge the impact that he was having on the older man. Rubalcaba’s tight improvisations contrasted with the more spacious interpretations of Valdes. Valdes was percussive and throughout the hour he ranged across the keyboard, repeatedly running his fingers from bass to treble enjoying the splendour of the Steinway. Eventually they built to a climax that evoked audience applause seconds before the climax was reached.
Each piece worked in similar ways. Cuban rhythms were explored; Rubalcaba played more notes; Valdes was economical. There was turn taking. The main change was that the pianists swapped sides of the stage and Valdes had to alter the height of the piano stool much to the amusement of the audience.
The format and the similarity of the pieces all seemed to end in a climax brought to a sudden halt leading to yells from the audience. The virtuosity of the two men almost led to them cancelling each other out. The audience was obviously on the side of the performers. It would have been good if there was more a sense of challenge, a cutting contest. They did listen to each other carefully and there were occasions when musical ideas were completed by the other.
Do we get something from two piano session that we would not get if they played separately? I suspect that we would get different answers from different members of the audience. Bartok was one of the first to realise that a piano could belong to the percussion section. Here the percussive nature of the pianos was not fully utilised. Rubalcaba did tap out a rhythm on the piano lid for the encore but that was not what Bartok meant.
‘Caravan’ was a surprising choice as an encore from the Cubans. However, they did turn Juan Tizol’s warhorse into a Cuban rhythmic festival. It was on this piece that the competing challenge between the pianists was most apparent. It was a pity that the musicians could not have responded further to the audience who so obviously wanted more when they had heard what could be achieved.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Each piece worked in similar ways. Cuban rhythms were explored; Rubalcaba played more notes; Valdes was economical. There was turn taking. The main change was that the pianists swapped sides of the stage and Valdes had to alter the height of the piano stool much to the amusement of the audience.
The format and the similarity of the pieces all seemed to end in a climax brought to a sudden halt leading to yells from the audience. The virtuosity of the two men almost led to them cancelling each other out. The audience was obviously on the side of the performers. It would have been good if there was more a sense of challenge, a cutting contest. They did listen to each other carefully and there were occasions when musical ideas were completed by the other.
Do we get something from two piano session that we would not get if they played separately? I suspect that we would get different answers from different members of the audience. Bartok was one of the first to realise that a piano could belong to the percussion section. Here the percussive nature of the pianos was not fully utilised. Rubalcaba did tap out a rhythm on the piano lid for the encore but that was not what Bartok meant.
‘Caravan’ was a surprising choice as an encore from the Cubans. However, they did turn Juan Tizol’s warhorse into a Cuban rhythmic festival. It was on this piece that the competing challenge between the pianists was most apparent. It was a pity that the musicians could not have responded further to the audience who so obviously wanted more when they had heard what could be achieved.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
