Returning for his third Andover performance, guest pianist Gabriel Chodos presented a varied classical repertoire to the audience last Friday evening.
A professional classical pianist, Chodos has performed around the globe, is a member of the artist faculty at the New England Conservatory and is often broadcasted on NPR.
Chodos kicked off his recital with Austrian composer Franz Schubert’s “Allegretto in C minor, D. 915.” The piece consisted of sharply dotted rhythms that complemented the constantly changing movement and melody.
At first, Chodos played the piece slowly before inching into a more intense section of the piece. Chodos toyed mainly with the fluctuating intonations by manipulating the piano chords and relatively simple melody.
“The way he played with his lines and his tone, the sound was really gorgeous. [Chodos] kept you on the edge of your seat. [The piece] was a Schubert, which is really hard to do,” said Harvey Wu ’14.
Following the first piece, Chodos proceeded with Schubert’s “Sonata in G major, D. 894.” Chodos executed the piece with perfect tone and tempo. He interpreted the four-piece sonata as a more somber, slower piece than how it is usually played. The contrasts in tempo between the sonata and the allegretto showed Chodos’ mastery of different-paced classical pieces.
“I love this sonata! It is an enormous piece, but at the same time, every moment is worth it. You don’t hear [Chodos’] kind of playing too often these days,” said John Gibson ’15.
The highlight of the recital was Chodos’ performance of Beethoven’s “Sonata in C minor, Op, 111.” He began his interpretation with choppy, robust notes in the first movement before quietly segueing into the finale, which ended with a thrill.
“I love all [the pieces in this repertoire] so much, and I felt this recital the right time for me to play them. Beethoven’s ‘111’ is the greatest of all, though. The music is transcendent. He just goes up to heaven in that music,” said Chodos.
Christopher Walter, Instructor in Music, has heard Chodos play many times. “He is a wonderful pianist who specializes particularly in these composers. He is profoundly in touch with the music. You can sense he is someone who has deeply absorbed the music over many, many years,” said Walter.
Chodos is a professional pianist who has performed pieces by renowned composers like Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin and Brahms on NPR. When he’s not in the spotlight, Chodos also conducts master classes and lecture demonstrations at many institutions, including Yale University and Tokyo’s Kunitachi College of Music.
