Adelaide Fringe Festival. The Garage International Theatre. 3 March 2013
Every now and then the Fringe exposes a little gem, and ‘Pianoforte, my Life’ is one of them. Regrettably it only played for three performances over two days in an out-of-the-way venue in North Adelaide which was poorly signposted – correction, NOT signposted at all – and so any chance of walk-ups was nil. However, those who did see it were very pleased that they had and were quite touched by a moving performance.
The show is billed as a ‘monodrama and a piano concert in one act’. Written and directed by Andy K Yoon, ‘Pianoforte My Life’ tells the history of a pianist who is at the end of her career. She reminisces about her life as an artist who was always striving for the elusive perfect performance, but often being frustrated and almost driven mad by it. She confides in us her highs and her very deep lows, and her recollections are punctuated and explained in musical form by excerpts from some of the most moving pieces ever written for the piano.
Concert pianist Jinjoo Lee was challenged by the venue’s inferior instrument, but her immense skill, technique and well developed understanding of the pieces resulted in a performance of remarkable control, clarity and musicality. Actress Hwawon Lee played the aged pianist with great sensitivity – her costuming and makeup was enhanced by the way she slowly and deliberately moved around the set befitting a person suffering the ravages of old age.
Hwawon Lee drew the audience in with her telling of the aged pianist’s revelations and secrets, and her explanation that compositions that are sad and full of pathos are so much more difficult to play than passionate and lively pieces was especially poignant. The lesson for all pianists is a simple one: being able to play the notes, however devilishly hard it might be, is not the battle – it is merely a skirmish. The real battle is to inhabit the mind of the composer and to really get at what was intended. The printed notes on the page are just the start of the journey. Interestingly, to my ear Jinjoo Lee fared slightly less well with the melancholic Chopin Nocturne Op.48 No. 1 than she did with the selected full-blooded movements from Beethoven’s Appassionata and Pathétique sonatas. But maybe that was what author Yoon wanted anyway.
I would have preferred the two performers to be located closer together so that they could interact more obviously. This would also have assisted the illusion that they were the same person.
‘Pianoforte, my Life’ is a delight. It is not pretentious, it is not affected; it is simply the telling of a very touching story in a completely engaging way. This was the first season of this production in Australia and in English. Top marks!
Kym Clayton
When: Closed
Where: The Garage International Theatre
Bookings: Closed
