I first heard 2001 Van Cliburn Competition winner Olga Kern perform at Le Petit
Trianon in San Jose, where I noted in rather denigrating terms, her capacities for
percussive effects. Here on a Yamaha CF 111S, I still find she tends to subject music to a
shellacking, if the Op. 21 Hungarian Variations are any indication. This is not to
downplay her formidable technique and scale, which are impressive. The Handel Variations, for instance, begin with modest sonic ambitions, but the early double octaves prove too much of a temptation for her not to pound them into the ground. She does add an aura of mystery to the slinky variants, and the bright staccati and canonic elements achieve a hard clarity. She can make Brahms sound like Moussorgsky or Busoni’s transcriptions of Bach organ fugues.
The middle variations of the Handel fare best, where the writing calls for upper voice leggierissimo, diminuendi, and fleet dexterity. The “Scottish” variation and siciliano maintain the requisite drone and folk-effect. The ensuing alla musette enjoys the dainty
delicacy of fine porcelain, a tinkling delight. The double octaves accelerate with natural
lift and lead directly into the fugue, a Kern specialty. The Paganini Variations, Books I and II, seem tailor-made for Kern’s battery section of the keyboard. Arpeggiations, cross-rhythms, double octaves, pizzicati effects, bariolage effects, she eats them, gulps them all, with equal appetite. I heard the late Gina Bachauer in this music, and I am trying to assess the differences, given that both women possess daunting technical equipment. I think Gina had learned that less is more.
— Gary Lemco
