He was once a child prodigy. Now he’s a prodigy of nature.
Abbey Simon is living proof that a musical career can be age-proof—and that human vigor is ageless.
Now 87 years old, the veteran pianist delivered a memorable performance at his April 21 concert at Alice Tully Hall, whose proceeds went toward the Music for Youth Foundation. He displayed ease and dexterity in his ambitious program, which spanned genres and centuries. Having been a child prodigy, he is the recipient of the prestigious Walter Naumburg Award, which consists of a debut concert at Town Hall in New York City. Simon then began performing at Carnegie Hall, and toured extensively throughout Europe, the United States, Canada. Simon briefly enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II.
Doubtless, many of the pieces he played—a Bach toccata, sonatas by Clementi and Beethoven, classics by Chopin, Ravel character pieces—have long been grooved on his inner hard disk. But he played them with youthful freshness, and displayed an emotional depth that only age and experience can bring.
Simon’s rendition of the Bach Toccata in C minor was impeccable. He ingeniously interchanged the three voices in the fugual section and experimented with a wide range of dynamics throughout.
The Clementi Sonata in F Minor showcased Simon’s virtually flawless technique—each section and its reprise were played with subtle variations in texture. Simon’s trills perhaps weren’t as sharp as they once were, but the pianist more than compensated for any minor inadequacies in technique with breathtaking interpretations of potentially dull, repetitive passages.
The Beethoven Sonata in E Flat was not Simon’s strongest performance of the evening—the slower sections lacked the poignancy that the pianist demonstrated in the two former pieces. But the more rapid, ascending passages were well executed, and the subtle changes in tempo enhanced the colors and textures.
In the Chopin Waltz in A-flat major, Simon cleverly varied the reprisals of the theme, as in the Clementi. The pianist deftly articulated the dissonances of the Waltz in F major and pedaled with taste, but, again, did not convey the subtleties of the notes in the slower passages.
Still, the second waltz received a standing ovation.
Simon’s rendition of Chopin’s Ballade in F minor exhibited the pianist’s masterful technique and seasoned expressiveness. He performed the four Ravel character pieces with extraordinarily nuanced expression. He delivered the syncopated sections flawlessly and toyed subtly with tempo.
At the end, the listeners roared with applause, shouting “Bravissimo!” and shunned their seats until Simon took his third and fourth bows.
Simon rewarded the crowd with two encores, the Edvard Grieg’s Butterfly and Chopin’s Impromptu in A flat major that were a delectable dessert to a rich classical feast.
Abbey Simon has received international acclaim for his solo concerts and recordings, and this was no different.
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