Music Reviews : Daniel Shapiro in Ambassador Recital

Seriousness, not too common a quality in current piano playing, was perhaps the most conspicuous characteristic of Daniel Shapiro’s playing at his Gold Medal series recital at Ambassador Auditorium Monday night.

Shapiro might be a bit too casual now and then in his pursuit of exactness and precision, but his aim is always high. His preoccupation with neatness and orderliness, however, does not excessively overburden him.

In short, he takes technical proficiency in stride. If matters come off precisely, well and good; if they get a shade messy occasionally, that is not unduly disconcerting.

The pianist had rather an odd idea in beginning with Alban Berg’s highly concentrated Sonata, Opus 1. It is an intense and worthy piece, but it imposes problems on an audience as a program opener. It would have been a mistake to attempt to lighten it, and Shapiro endowed it with admirably focused effort, but that is not an easy way to win an audience.

Appeasement was in order in Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata, which raised no serious problems, but which also did not rise to maximum eloquence or intensity.

Still sonata-bent after intermission, Shapiro exhibited thoughtful and often pleasantly songful ideas about Schubert’s Sonata in A minor, D. 845. His liking for long drawn phrases and for leisurely singing at the keyboard, however, proved costly indulgences now and then. A more direct approach might have lightened his discourse, but one had always to recognize his seriousness and his legitimate intentions.

In the long run, Shapiro mastered the music rather than vice versa. He offered two Schubert encores.