On bright and sunny Mother’s Day, people filed into the Timken Room in Graves to listen a senior recital from pianists Raymond Chen ’10 and Randy Li ’10. The previously silent room broke into applause as Chen and Li took the stage to play their final recital as Andover students. Chen took a bow and proceeded to play Franz Schubert’s “Impromptu Op. 90, No. 2.” His fingers flew across the keys with precision in this lively piece heavy with scales. Chen masterfully contrasted the light, lyrical section with the darker, heavier one. In “Liebesträume No. 3” by Franz Liszt, Chen captured the dreamy and romantic quality of this piece which translates into “Dreams of Love.” Again Chen showed his technical mastery of this piece with his dexterous finger work. The next piece is the first of three works by Frederic Chopin that were the highlight of Chen’s performance. “Etude Op. 25, No. 12 ‘Ocean,’” while not lengthy, was full of rising and falling arpeggios that spanned virtually the entire keyboard. Chen skillfully captured the spirit of this piece and let the audience easily imagine the rough winds and waves of an ocean. The penultimate piece Chen played was Chopin’s “Ballade No. 1.” One could hear accolades in the audience during intermission about Chen’s interpretation of this ballade. While it started slow and deceptively simple, it moved into racing scales and built up to a forceful and loud section which Chen skillfully contrasted with the next lyrical and almost ethereal section before moving on to more racing scales and arpeggios. “He did a great job. I especially loved the last two. He really captured the musicality and character of two of Chopin’s greatest works” said Jennifer Chew ’10 As a finale, Chen played Chopin’s “Waltz Op. 64, No. 2,” which once again showed off the accuracy and dexterity that has been a hallmark of Chen’s performance. “I was really nervous before with the memorization, but I’m relieved it’s over” said Chen. After a rather brief intermission Li took the stage to applause from the audience. His first piece was “Sonata No. 14 in C- sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2” by Ludwig van Beethoven. The piece began with a slow, reverent adagio section. Li had a strong sense of rhythm throughout and skillfully transitioned through the slightly faster allegretto section and the much faster, strongly accented presto section. The next selection was the aptly-named “Romanze in F major, Op. 118 No. 5” by Johannes Brahms. Li’s musicality shined through in this romantic piece. With help from Chen holding down the sheet music and turning pages, Li entranced the audience with his interpretation of the sweet simplicity of the piece. The next piece, “Etude in A Flat Major, Op. 72, No.11” by Mortiz Moszkowski, was fast yet lyrical. Li successfully contrasted the piece’s light airy high section with its dark and deep low section, making this short piece very sweet. The last piece was “Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor,” by Frederic Chopin, one of the most well-known piano pieces of all time. His love for the piece shined through, and his fingers flew across the keyboard, truly bringing out the character of the piece. Li’s rendition was heart-wrenchingly sweet and fantastical, with just enough emphasis on the lower chords to keep the listener grounded. And when he played the final notes, there was a still, dreamy silence before the audience burst into applause. Li’s piano teacher Stephan Porter, Instructor in Music, could be seen in the audience with a camera, filming his student’s performance. Porter said, “Randy did a superb job, especially with the last piece, the ‘Fantaisie-Impromptu.’ You could see he really loved the piece.” “It was a lot of fun and it was really special to be playing knowing people were there to see you,” said Li. After all of the preparation that went into this performances Chen and Li can finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that their last performance at Andover was one that they could be proud of.
