Even though I had previewed the Young Pianist Series recital appearance by Ray Ushikubo, I admit that I was not at all prepared for a performance that literally left me speechless. On paper, one might assume that the 17-year-old pianist would be your average supremely-talented teen at the beginning of his serious music education—Ushikubo has entered the Curtis Institute of Music this year to pursue his Bachelor’s degree. Average? No. Supremely talented? Most definitely.
Ushikubo’s challenging recital program was high on the degree of difficulty scale for any pianist of any age, opening with some usual recital favorites—Chopin’s Polonaise in A-flat major and Beethoven’s “Pathetique” Sonata—that he polished off with ease, and with a level of musical maturity, insight, and nuance that immediately placed him in the lofty company of world-class pianists.
Ushikubo opened his second half with the complex simplicity of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, Fugue VIII in D-sharp minor (BWV 877), displaying a disciplined focus and clarity that was a perfect set-up for what was to come. As an apex point of the concert, he then tackled Liszt’s challenging Rhapsodie espagnole (“Spanish Rhapsody”) with a mind-boggling confidence that moved from marvelous dynamic nuance in a set of variations to the earthshaking virtuosity of chordal leaps taken at an ear-numbing tempo—And, without losing the work’s ethnic character.
Ushikubo concluded with two works, a fluid and elegant Chopin Nocturne in B Major, Op. 62, No. 1, followed by Liszt’s Transcendental Étude No. 10 in F minor with deliciously impressive heat and excitement.
As if the recital audience needed dessert after this feast of prodigious performance from the 17-year-old pianist, Ushikubo made a serious case for being considered a concert star of the future—if not a musical showman—with an encore. But, not on the Steinway—he returned to the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall stage with violin in hand. Apparently equally competent as a violinist—both musically and technically— he proceeded to illustrate his innate sense of musical storytelling with a Bach Fugue.
Although only 17, Ushikubo projects a sense of musical ability, maturity, and confidence that is made all the more delightful by a youthful enthusiasm and energy that has not yet been sullied by the realities of an adult career and the prospects of being a concert star. We can only hope he never loses those one-in-a-million assets—classical music needs him.
The third of three YPS recitalists will be Elliot Wuu on Sunday, March 10, in the Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall on the UT Campus. Tickets and Information
