GRAFFMAN

A new era dawned at the Kingston Chamber Music Festival Tuesday, as pianist Natalie Zhu opened her first festival after taking over for founder David Kim. And she was quick to put her stamp on it.

Among the lineup of performers was 80-year-old pianist Gary Graffman, who for years was Zhu’s mentor at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Graffman was, of course, one of the great pianists of his generation until a neurological disorder crippled his right hand and sidelined his career. But Graffman has continued to delve into the limited but rich left-hand literature for the instrument, much of it written for a pianist who lost his right arm in World War I.

Tuesday Graffman brought with him two works from that repertoire — Brahms’ arrangement of the great D Minor violin chaconne of Bach, and more interestingly a suite for two violins, cello and left-hand piano by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

The Brahms is more or less a faithful transcription of the violin score, unlike the more popular arrangement by Busoni, which turned the Bach into a virtuosic showpiece with deep roots in the 19th century, not the Baroque.

But in Graffman’s hands the Bach was kind of a disappointment. This was a rather dry, poker-faced rendition without a lot of drama or tension.

That would have to wait for the Korngold, which was much more engaging, perhaps because it was a group effort. First violinist Jasmine Lin certainly made a strong leader. But there was a nice edge to Graffman’s playing, too. This time there was real shape to his efforts, and a kind of drive and intensity. That was evident right from the outset with his long, dark solo.

Most pianists don’t go in for the left-hand literature unless they are forced to, but you have to wonder why the Korngold is not heard more. It’s an ingenious piece that begins with a prelude and fugue, moves on to a lilting waltz and then takes up a demonic theme in a section marked Groteske. A lied, or song, and rondo finish it off.

And it received a passionate, sweeping reading — until cellist Clancy Newman broke a string and had to stop the performance while he replaced it. But that did little to mar what was otherwise a terrific performance.

The evening opened with more Bach, this time without Graffman. That was an upbeat, joyous reading of the sixth Brandenburg Concerto of Bach, with Paul Cienniwa at the harpsichord.

This might not have been historically proper Bach, but the group led by Taiwanese-born violists Che-Hung Chen and Che-Yen Chen had no trouble capturing the spirit of the piece. The dialogue between the two fiddles was particularly nice, the way the two played off one another.

The Kingston Chamber Music Festival runs through July 31 at the URI Fine Arts Center Concert Hall. Call (401) 789-0665 for more information and tickets.

cgray@projo.com