Pianist keeps record pace

How soon will journalists let go of pegging their stories on Yevgeny Sudbin's precocity as a concert pianist? No one refers to Emanuel Ax as "the 60-year-old soloist." Nor is Stephen Hough described as "the 48-year-old Hough." But until June 30, Sudbin will be known as the 29-year-old Russian, a pianist for the 21st century.

Sudbin -- with his boyish smile, soulful eyes and reed-thin frame -- turns 30 in a month. That's still a tender age for someone so accomplished at the keyboard but a significant turn of the calendar in a youth-desperate media.

The Minnesota Orchestra is grabbing Sudbin before the expiration date on his 20s comes due, with four concerts this weekend in which he will play Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto. Sudbin will stay in Minneapolis for several more days as he and the orchestra record the "Emperor" as part of their five-year project to record all five of Beethoven's piano concertos. He'll return in 2011 to complete the cycle with the Third Concerto.

Sudbin has been in the performance consciousness of Minnesota audiences and the Minnesota Orchestra since 2006, when he made his Twin Cities debut in a Chopin Society recital at Macalester College. He played the "Emperor" with the Minnesota Orchestra in November 2007 ("in a way, a tryout for us to see if we get along with the orchestra," he said) and returned a year later to again perform under Osmo Vänskä's baton.

Separately, Sudbin played Beethoven's Fourth Concerto with Vänskä conducting at the Mostly Mozart Festival last August at Avery Fisher Hall in New York's Lincoln Center.

"I think his approach is very refreshing," Sudbin said of Vänskä, who has a reputation for brisk tempo and fidelity to the composer's original intentions. "It's quite original, in a way. He's not trying to do too much with the music, which these days is quite unusual. It's so convincing that it's difficult to imagine a different approach to Beethoven."

Learning the life

His recording schedule for BIS (14 CDs over seven years) has kept him well-occupied. His 2007 release of 13 pieces by countryman Alexander Scriabin won particular praise (CD of the Year by the Daily Telegraph), and three Haydn sonatas came out in February. In addition to his appearance in Minneapolis, Sudbin's season includes the London Philharmonic and recitals at the Zurich Tonhalle and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

The pace, he said, is a demand that they never teach you about in conservatory. Perhaps they might add a class in hotels, restaurants and airports?

"At least a couple of lectures," he said. "That's something you cannot imagine until you find yourself doing it, and it's quite an important aspect."

Another thing they should teach in conservatory, he said, is how to handle reviews -- good, bad or indifferent.

"I used to read reviews after concerts, and I just got confused," he said. "I would have several reviews entirely contradictory, and it was not always possible to explain why that was the case. It's better to follow the few people whose opinions you value."

Getting better all the time

It's unknown whether Sudbin bothered with the reviews after his 2007 performance of the "Emperor." Larry Fuchsberg, writing in the Star Tribune, called it a "bland performance." Regardless, Sudbin said his essential belief in his interpretation remains fixed. Despite the concerto's reputation for grandeur, he said, he finds introverted and tender moments in the music.

"It's almost intimate," he said. "A recording I really like is the [Ukrainian Benno] Moiseiwitsch performance. I think he captures that quite well. Of course there is a lot of grandeur, but that's not the primary quality of the concerto. I'm not sure why it is, but I sometimes struggle to find the right balance between intimacy and majestic qualities."

Any piece, of course, changes and progresses over time. The main thing, he said, is to continue learning, expanding the knowledge of the piece and the composer.

"Regular work is very important," he said. "I used to practice more when I was younger but with traveling, it is very hard."