Korkmaz Can Saglam: Solace
Sono Luminus

When Korkmaz Can Saglam says, “I have been living with these works by Handel and Rachmaninoff for many years now … and knew that, sooner or later, I had to leave my own mark on them,” it's easy to forget the words are coming from a pianist in his mid-twenties rather than someone armed with decades of professional experience. One might have much the same reaction while listening to the Turkish pianist's debut release Solace and being struck by the maturity of his interpretations and the seeming effortlessness with which they're realized.

Saglam was the Grand Prize winner of the 2022 Alexis Gregory Vendome Prize, with the recording of the fifty-seven-minute Solace a natural outgrowth of the victory. It's hardly the only major accomplishment on the young pianist's CV: he's performed in concert halls and venues in New York, Salzburg, Sydney, Paris, Nice, Brussels, Cleveland, Verona, and Istanbul and at various festivals too. He began his musical education at the age of seven, went on to study at the Cleveland Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, and has since returned to the Cleveland Institute for graduate studies.

One might expect an album so titled to be a collection of soothing reveries, but Saglam clarifies that the pieces he chose are works that bring him comfort and enabled him to find peace within himself. To that end, he's coupled Handel's Suite in D minor, HWV 428 (1720) with two pieces by Rachmaninoff, his Piano Sonata No.1 in D minor, Op. 28 (1908) and “In the Silence of the Secret Night" from his 6 Romances (1893). As he also wanted to include music from his own country, Saglam commissioned his long-time friend, composer Ilayda Deniz Oguz, to create Bozlak (2023) for the project.

Certainly, the six diverse parts of the Handel suite allow the pianist to strut his stuff, so to speak. Saglam's technical proficiency is convincingly demonstrated in his graceful handling of the “Prelude” and “Allegro (Fugue),” his fingerwork in the latter impressive. Whereas his rendering of the elegant “Allemande” is notable for its sensitivity, his treatment of “Air & 5 Variations” captures the fluidity of his transitions from one dynamic variation to the next. The concluding “Presto” is taken at a breathless clip, with Saglam meeting the challenge handsomely.

At almost thirty-five minutes, Rachmaninoff's three-part Piano Sonata No.1 in D minor offers a striking change from the concision of those in Handel's. There's much to recommend about Saglam's rendition of the opening “Allegro Moderato,” from the oceanic swells coursing through it to his phrasing choices and his segues between introspection and exuberance. It's easy to be swept away by the movement's dazzle when it crests two-thirds of the way through, but Saglam's artful handling of the hushed “Lento” is no less striking. The sprawling, fourteen-minute “Allegro Molto” matches the opening movement for impact, with the listener again riveted by the pianist's command during this expansive travelogue. While it's morsel-length compared to the towering sonata, Rachmaninoff's luminous “In the Silence of the Secret Night,” in a transcription by Earl Wild, merits inclusion for highlighting the composer's lyrical expressiveness.

To create her six-minute piece, Oguz merged her own compositional elements with the Turkish folk song “Bozlak,” a word that means to cry out or to yell. Though the dulcimer-like timbres with which it begins instantly separate Oguz's cryptic creation from the others, the addition of its unusual soundworld to the album isn't unwelcome. Further to that, the performance flatters Saglam for the patience he shows in his thoughtful realization of this poetic meditation.

First awarded in Paris in November 2000, the Alexis Gregory Vendome Prize aims to discover exceptionally talented artists hoping to embark on professional careers and to expose them to a broad audience. Many of the award's recipients have gone on to distinguished international careers, and based on the prodigious playing captured on Solace it seems very possible that Saglam could join that list.

May 2024