Pianist Roger Wright attracted attention as a result of being eliminated from the 2000 Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia. The decision brought forth numerous protests from listeners who followed the competition via national radio broadcast. Hearing this release culled from the young pianist’s performances during the competition, I can side with either the jury or the radio public, but it depends on the piece. There’s no questioning the formidable technique and control behind the three contemporary music selections. You might characterize Elisenda Fábregas’ Mirage as a sensual melting pot whose stew features Ginastera, Scriabin, and Szymanowski as main ingredients. Lowell Liebermann’s Gargoyles are brilliantly deployed for the keyboard and might best be described as early Prokofiev with its edges trimmed and wildness domesticated. By contrast, Peter Sculthorpe’s Between Five Bells makes its evocative case with less pianistic adroitness, yet in a more original musical language.
Wright caresses Schumann’s Blumenstück with easy, alluringly-tinted rubatos, but his like-minded treatment of the Chopin B-flat minor sonata’s opening movement seems fussy by comparison. The Scherzo’s outer sections could be more brazen and assured, and the Finale less careful and underplayed, but perhaps Wright was unwilling to take chances in front of a jury. Debussy’s Minstrels struts its stuff in fits and starts, and the Rachmaninov D major Etude-Tableaux, though well played, falls short of the power and projection of Richter and Horowitz. Haydn’s wonderful two-movement C major Sonata No. 58, however, features an eloquently spun Andante, with the final measures timed to perfection. In all, Wright displays wide ranging tastes and blossoming talents that add up to a promising debut disc. I look forward to hearing more of his work.
