Music Reviews : Pianist Kahane Performs at El Camino College

No stranger to Southland audiences, pianist Jeffrey Kahane has been giving recitals here for more than a dozen years. Now 33, he continues to bring insight and intellect to his programs, as he did Friday evening at El Camino College.

Following a refined account of Debussy’s “Estampes,” the pianist turned to Bartok’s “Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs.” Showing fine control throughout, he played with both intimate subtlety and explosive dynamism.

Like Bartok’s “Improvisations,” Kenneth Frazelle’s “Blue Ridge Airs,” written 68 years later, weaves simple folk melodies into an intricate yet understandable contrapuntal fabric. The composer, whose music Kahane has actively championed, paced his ideas skillfully, and managed to create a wealth of variety--rhythmic, textural and timbral--without rambling.

Though obviously challenging to play, “Blue Ridge Airs” (written for Kahane) makes fine use of the instrument’s capacities, and the pianist made a moving and virtually irrefutable case for it.

Following intermission, Kahane turned to Chopin, first the Impromptu in F-sharp, then the B-minor Sonata. As before, Kahane conveyed a sure sense of direction and purpose and brought out details with uncommon clarity. His account of the Sonata was neither deeply personal nor technically flawless but nonetheless an intelligent, balanced and ultimately satisfying one.