Music / Beethoven and Beyond, Bernice Chua and Joshua Han, piano. Wesley Music Centre, February 14. Reviewed by SAM WILSON.

Award-winning Australian pianists Bernice Chua and Joshua Han teamed up for a concert  featuring two Beethoven sonatas along with an assortment of contrasting, more modern, works.

After a friendly introduction by the performers, Chua took to the stage, launching into Beethoven’s Sonata No. 7 in D minor, nicknamed “tempest”. Chua contrasted peaceful soft arpeggiated chords in the opening with fast agitated passages as the musical storm began.

The adagio second movement slows the tempo, with dignified chords. The atmosphere in the recital hall was calm and serene, although Chua struggled to create very soft dynamics in such a small space. The allegretto third movement started softly, before building in energy and complexity before the storm calmed with a soft ending.

Next Chua played Alexander Scriabin’s Etude Op. 42 No. 5, a virtuosic and fast display of pianistic skill. While Chua played well at the fast tempo, the emerging melodies and contours were lost at times in the torrent of notes. Regardless, the challenging piece was well received by the audience.

Debussy’s Etude No. 1 pour les cinq doigts was next, a highly technical work based on the opening five-finger C major scale, the first thing any piano student plays. From there however, the tempo increases, and Chua’s purposeful articulation and pedalling maintained clarity through the fast scales and arpeggios.

Debussy’s Pour le Piano closed Chua’s performance with three contrasting movements. The prelude featured fortissimo chords and glissandi that filled the recital hall, before the sarabande brought the energy and tempo down, with softer chordal harmonies. Last was the fast toccata, and Chua’s light touch preserved the articulation and dynamic contrast.

After an interval, Han took to the stage with Béla Bartók’s Three Etudes, Op. 8. The first was a fast atonal piece, featuring many octaves, and Han maintained the constant pulse despite the leaps and tricky rhythms. The next etude brought a murky atmosphere, with undulating arpeggios and trills. The third was agitated and fast, finishing this dissonant set of etudes to enthusiastic applause.

Next, Han brought us Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 30 in E major. This lesser-played sonata showcased Han’s stylistic sensibility, as he maintained clear melodic distinction and articulation throughout. The short movements I and II transition between fast and slow sections, before the long third movement establishes a beautiful chorale-like theme, which then become a basis for six variations. Han’s long legato melodies and careful voice-leading brought the piece to life.

To close out the recital, Han performed the dramatic Piano Sonata No. 7 by Sergei Prokofiev. The first movement sounded like a dissonant military march, and Han’s dynamic contrast kept the audience engulfed in a dark, brooding atmosphere. The second movement features a slow and sensitive theme, and Han brought the volume down even in the small space, before launching into the dramatic third movement, with fast and loud fortissimo chords bringing an orchestral grandeur to the ending of the piece.

After passionate applause from the audience, the duo teamed up to play a four-hands arrangement of Rachmaninoff’s Italian Polka, a fun and energetic dance that brought this enjoyable recital to a cheerful close.