Hyewon Chang: Fantasie Reflections
Navona Records

South Korean-born pianist Hyewon Chang, who's been the recipient of numerous awards and performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Munich's Hochschule für Musik und Theater, makes an impressive Navona Records debut with an impeccably realized set of fantasias by Mozart and Robert Schumann. Chang developed her fluency through studies at Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music, the Colburn School, and the USC Thornton School of Music; having earned a Master of Music degree at the latter, she's now pursuing a Doctoral of Musical Arts at Thornton and is currently a staff pianist at the Colburn Conservatory of Music. All such training and experiences have provided her with the requisite skill-set needed to tackle the myriad challenges associated with the works on the release.

Her playing's marked by stellar technical command, but it's perhaps musicality and poise that distinguish her performances above all else. Each of the Mozart fantasias sings in her hands, and the range of emotions encompassed by Schumann's Fantasie in C Major, Op. 17 is convincingly captured by the pianist. Recorded at New York's Skillman Music on a single day in December 2023, Fantasie Reflections ventures through Mozart's Fantasia in C Minor (K. 396), Fantasia in D Minor (K. 397), and Fantasia in C Minor (K. 475) before plunging into Schumann's half-hour adventure. Lyrical themes and passionate outpourings are present in equal measure when works of such dynamic sweep and varying character are juxtaposed.

An interesting backstory attends the birth of Fantasia in C minor, K. 396. Mozart originated it in 1782 but didn't complete it, that task falling to Maximilian Stadler and leading to the work's posthumous publication in 1802 under the title “Fantaisie pour le Clavecin ou Pianoforte dédiée à Mad. Constanze Mozart.” That the result is nothing less than wholly Mozartian testifies to Stadler's deft and meticulous abilities. Opening dramatically with an arpeggio flourish, the work quickly asserts itself as a sombre expression rich in chromaticism and tinges of dissonance. Having thoroughly established its dark character, the material turns lively and lets traces of radiance seep in. Chang develops the music with commendable patience and as expertly oscillates between introspective delicacy and exuberant extroversion. Her tempo choices are well-considered too and allow the listener to luxuriate in the elegance of Mozart's writing. In contrast to the long-form C minor fantasias, Fantasia in D minor, K. 397 weighs in at a succinct six minutes. Composed in 1782, the work begins poignantly, with the composer painting a sombre landscape using brooding arpeggios and tender themes. Similar to the opening fantasia, the D minor one alternates between contrasting passages, some hushed and fragile and others energized and robust. Again Chang exemplifies exceptional control in her choices of tempo and dynamics, and the clarity with which she articulates impresses also. Created three years later, Fantasia in C minor, K. 475 advances through arresting contrasts in mood and style throughout its twelve-minute run. Eloquent melodic statements, refined contrapuntal gestures, and passionate outbursts of energy alternate fluidly as this graceful evocation blooms. The ear is, to put it mildly, occasionally tickled by the playfulness of Mozart's teasing.

Developing out of relationships Schumann had with Clara Wieck and Beethoven, Fantasie in C major, Op. 17 was originally conceived as a 'Grand Sonata' in honour of Beethoven and comprising three movements, “Ruins,” “Trophies,” and “Palms,” the first having been written in 1836 as a lament for Clara. The work underwent transformations thereafter before assuming its present title and was described by its creator to Clara in March 1838 as “perhaps the most impassioned music I have ever written.” Strong words indeed, but the towering result argues compellingly in support of the claim. Beginning tempestuously with a dense cluster in the left hand and a prototypically Schumann-esque theme in the right, the first movement, apparently intended to express Robert's longing for Clara, grows impassioned quickly and vacillates between grandiose expressions of affection and angst. While rippling patterns convey intense, oceanic swells of emotion in one episode, other parts in this panoramic opener are rollicking, lyrical, and hymnal. Entering as a spirited march, the second movement exudes optimism until its animated coda, even if vestiges of inner turmoil and disturbance also surface during the journey. Marked “Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten,” the quietly majestic third movement concludes the work with dignified expressions of yearning and heartache.

July 2024