Pianist, orchestra to tackle tough 'Rach 3' at Robinson

Based on what he has played, and is playing this weekend, with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, you'd think pianist Norman Krieger only took on super-size concertos.

In his two previous appearances with the orchestra, Krieger performed two of the biggest works in the repertoire -- Johannes Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 in November 2011, returning in January 2014 (almost exactly three years ago) with the Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2.

This weekend (7:30 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday), he's returning to the newly rebuilt Robinson Center Performance Hall to play with the ASO and conductor Philip Mann what is possibly the biggest piano concerto of all: Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3, known popularly (and also by pianists, usually in awe) as the "Rach 3."

So, wouldn't he like to do something lighter -- a nice little piece by C.P.E. Bach (one of Johann Sebastian's most prolific sons) or an early concerto by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?

"That would be great," he says with a laugh. "I'd love [to perform] some C.P.E. Bach. There's so much repertoire that's not being played. And nothing's better than Mozart. Or Haydn."

Of course, there are longer and possibly even harder works than this, Krieger says. Feruccio Busoni's C-major concerto takes over an hour to perform, and Bela Bartok's Piano Concerto No. 2 "is up right there with the amount of physical stamina it takes to play."

But the Rachmaninoff concerto is certainly as big a bear as everybody says it is.

"Absolutely," Krieger says. "It's a lifetime-achievement-award piece. It's so operatic, and it has so much of the Slavic epic storytelling that is so beautiful. And there are so many different layers in the score.

"Someone should make an edition of the piano part, like they did for [Franz] Liszt in the Budapest edition [Editio Musica Budapest], that all the sort of embellishment kind of notes should be smaller, so the thematic notes are the ones you can visually see in the score. Because you look at the music, and like, it's all black, so thick.

"I think the challenge to all of us [pianists] is not to bring out all the notes the same, but to really layer it in a choir kind of voicing -- soprano, alto, tenor, bass."

He says the scope of the piece is also enormous: "You kind of get the history of the piano in the first 15 minutes. The beginning of the concerto is very much like a Gregorian chant; it starts with unison voicing, [then] goes to a kind of Baroque accompaniment in the orchestra, then ends up in a kind of Lisztian mini-cadenza.

"And then you have kind of a Schumann-esque section where the writing is very similar to that of Robert Schumann's, in terms of how he uses the hand. And as it develops you experience the genius of Rachmaninoff and how he pushed the envelope of Liszt, to exploit the entire keyboard, all 88 keys."

The piece certainly requires a piano that projects, he adds, but having played at Robinson before its renovation, he agrees that the hall's new, state-of-the-art acoustics should benefit his performance.

Krieger says he is not performing this concerto elsewhere this season -- mostly he's playing the big first concertos of Brahms and Peter I. Tchaikovsky and Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3. He and Mann recently did a Beethoven program together in Colorado -- the "Emperor" Concerto and the Choral Fantasy.

He and Mann recorded the Brahms Second Concerto for Decca in the fall of 2014 with the London Symphony at the famous Abbey Road Studios. It's being released this month in some parts of the world, although officials at parent company Universal Music say there's no current release date for the United States.

It's not unusual for soloists to develop an affinity for an orchestra and/or its conductor. Pianist Mischa Dichter, for example, made seven appearances with the Arkansas Symphony between 1984 and 2007 (poor ticket sales forced the cancellation of an eighth, part of a two-concert Beethoven marathon piano concerto festival, in September 2005).

Krieger says he has enjoyed performing with this band: "I think we hit it off in both [Brahms] concertos. I really love that orchestra -- they're so passionate and sincere, and they really inspire me. It's like chamber music on a massive scale.

"And of course, working with Philip is a real treat. He's so talented and brings out the best of everybody."

Weekend on 01/26/2017