Diehl gracefully melds two worlds, merging the improvisational spirit of jazz with the compositional intricacies of Western classical music.
Diehl gracefully melds two worlds, merging the improvisational spirit of jazz with the compositional intricacies of Western classical music.
Diehl proved an ideal interpreter for this music, rattling off the technical demands without fear and investing the concerto’s melodic strains with expressive delicacy.
Diehl proved an ideal interpreter for this music, rattling off the technical demands without fear and investing the concerto’s melodic strains with expressive delicacy.
He is a young player with a touch as staccato as if he were playing a Scarlatti sonata and a nearly Baroque contrapuntal way of improvising, yet he bends pitches. That’s physically impossible, but he makes you believe your ears.
He is a young player with a touch as staccato as if he were playing a Scarlatti sonata and a nearly Baroque contrapuntal way of improvising, yet he bends pitches. That’s physically impossible, but he makes you believe your ears.
Melodic precision, harmonic erudition, and elegant restraint.
Melodic precision, harmonic erudition, and elegant restraint.
Diehl’s rendition of Etude No. 3, following directly after the composer’s first appearance, hit a delightful rhythmic groove and showed wonderful balance of the hands and voicing. Glass’s music often demands a sort of affectless sheen, which Diehl caught perfectly in Etude No. 4. The percolating scales of Etude No. 13 and the ragtime chromatic glints in Etude No. 14 were also highlights of the evening.
Diehl’s rendition of Etude No. 3, following directly after the composer’s first appearance, hit a delightful rhythmic groove and showed wonderful balance of the hands and voicing. Glass’s music often demands a sort of affectless sheen, which Diehl caught perfectly in Etude No. 4. The percolating scales of Etude No. 13 and the ragtime chromatic glints in Etude No. 14 were also highlights of the evening.
But it was the experience of Diehl, who has performed the concerto in recent years with the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra, that amazed. No one should ever hear this concerto unless Diehl is playing. He was that impressive and has been called “the real Diehl” for good reason.
But it was the experience of Diehl, who has performed the concerto in recent years with the New York Philharmonic and the Cleveland Orchestra, that amazed. No one should ever hear this concerto unless Diehl is playing. He was that impressive and has been called “the real Diehl” for good reason.
