Student musician Chris Teng ’13 showcased his passion and talent for two very different musical instruments, the piano and the bassoon, in his Senior Recital this past Sunday.
Teng began his recital on the piano with the first movement of “Sonata No. 21 in C Major” by Ludwig Van Beethoven. Teng put a unique spin on the traditionally vigorous and spirited piece by playing it relatively slowly. Teng modified the “allegro con brio” tempo to give the composition a more cautious feel.
Teng then switched instruments to play “Sonata for Bassoon and Piano,” composed by Paul Hindemith.
Teng showed off his ability to articulate notes.In the slower parts, he connected every note to create legato phrases. At other times, he sharply punctuated the staccatos in a similar manner to the way a mallet hits the string of a piano.
According to Christopher Walter, Instructor in Music, Hindemith has composed a sonata for every instrument, and the bassoon is one of the more famous ones.
Walter said, “The Hindemith is a tremendously lyrical piece that is beautifully structured. This recital has a very ambitious program.”
“I wanted to do a recital that would span the different eras of music; Braun was my piece from the Baroque era, while Beethoven was Classical,” said Teng.
The last piece of the program, Franz Liszt’s Mephisto Watlz No. 1, was one of the most dramatic pieces of the performance, involving exciting melodies that countered each other throughout the piece.
“The piece by Liszt was by far
the most challenging in my reper
toire, and I had originally planned an intermission between the Hindemith and the Liszt in order to rest before performing the Mephisto Waltz,” said Teng. “I definitely felt the strain about halfway through the Mephisto waltz, but in hindsight, believe that it was the right choice.”
