Pablo Aguilar - Graduate Piano Recital

Back

Comments

Pablo, your piano performance was inspiring; I felt that it had more than merely tonal and melodic qualities, but that it had powerfully emotional aspects as well. Through your compositions I could discern more than just carefully and thoughtfully placed tones and semitones, I could discern a story.

Your recital was moving to a high degree. I am not a believer in mystics or in any form of clairvoyance, but I will confess that each of your pieces brought to life the story and image of the persons they were embodying. I don't know if you realize it or not, but I believe that this accurate projecting and personification of the human experience thorough such a unique medium--in this case, through music-- is where your genius lies. I have read about this feeling in my studies, but to experience this unification and perfect synthesis of emotions and sensory inputs in one sitting it is a powerful thing. Mind you that each audience member brings with them different sets of experiences and reservations. Often we go into situations with different expectations- we are "closed-minded." If, however, one is willing to break down their defenses and actually listen, I feel that they would have also felt what I felt.

Religiously speaking, I must admit that the spoken word (i.e. the bible, preaching, etc.) is a difficult medium for me to invest my attention in. If there is something that your performance has manifested to me it is that religion, as with other aspects of the human experience, does not always have to be spoken to have a strong effect. Sometimes it as if the unspoken beckons our minds to fill in the gaps of a story and relish in the wonder of imagination. This was the effect that your theme "The Great Controversy" had on me; I have never read the books, but I had a basic concept of them in my mind. Your performance led me on a mental journey of imagination and religion, all the while never seeming boring--powerful, indeed. Your recital harkens back to the long-implemented technique of storytelling through song. Furthermore, you elicited visceral reactions to a theme that people have written tomes about throughout history with masterful rendition. St. Augustine, Martin Luther, and countless others did with the pen what you did with the keys, again, a masterful achievement in your medium.

In sum, I could say countless more but I believe I made my point by sharing my experience. I don't know if you meant to broadcast so many feelings in your performance, but again, perhaps that is the root of your genius--its subtle power. [Michael A.]

Send your comments

About Pablo Aguilar