Drehpunkt Kultur

2010/7/29

by Heidemarie Klabacher

(...) Yu Kosuge put tremendous energy into the crescendos, which she increased in
a controlled manner, and also into the expressive, but not loudly hammered,
forte passages of the "Maestoso" in Frédéric Chopin's Concerto for Piano and
Orchestra No. 2 in F minor, op 21st. In the slow movement "Larghetto" it was
so quiet in the hall, one could have heard the proverbial pin drop. This
proved just how concentrated, how perceptibly spellbound the audience was by
this subtle yet powerfully woven pianistic netting. This striking "non
coughing" was actually more than a compliment: it showed that here was an
artist who had gripped her audience. Rollickingly like Rumpelstiltskin, Yu
Kosuge then plunged into the various Polish dance rhythms of the rondo.

The Chopin concerti are virtuosic concerti, therefore the orchestra
naturally plays the second fiddle to the soloist. For Yu Kosuge the
orchestral part was still much more than a precious tapestry of sound,
rolled out for her to display her showmanship on. The many small and
smallest dialogues of the solo piano with the woodwind - especially with the
bassoon, but also with the clarinet - were touching moments of intense
musical exchange. After the intermission, Yu Kosuge sat in the audience and
cheerfully signed autographs.

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

03.01.2006

The eminently sophisticated young pianist Yu Kosuge, who like Akiko Suwanai is from Japan , collaborated with utmost sensitivity with the orchestra and whenever necessary guided the orchestra creating a wonderful and confident cooperation. Her solo encore, a stylistically appropriate piece entitled “Death and Nightingale” by Enrique Granados y Campina, was equally delicately “instrumentalized.”

Yu Kosuge / Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla / Christian Arming (Conductor)

Concerts on 03.02. and 03.03.2006 in Seville

El Mundo 03.04.06

[…]Japanese born YK, who is even younger than the conductor, is also a great talent. Her performance was phenomenal and technically outstanding. Most importantly however, it was filled with musicality and sensitivity and the incorporation of impulsive and lyrical accents with wit and humor imbued the piece with a very special atmosphere. […]

Cultural magazine El Correo de Andalucia 03.05.06

Young romantic

Elegance and delicacy earns enthusiastic applause

[…] The evening’s most outstanding event was undoubtedly the appearance of the young pianist YK. She interpreted Chopin’s famous Don Giovanni-based piece, the duo „La ci darem la mano“ with a combination of virtuosity and technical perfection on the one hand and with sensitive romanticism and great passion on the other. Such elegance and delicacy earned the audience’s enthusiastic applause, which in turn, was rewarded with an encore performance: a Nocturne, also by Chopin, that many recognized from Polanski’s film „The Pianist“ based on Wladyslaw Szpilman’s novel. […]

Süddeutsche Zeitung

12.03.2006

With less than half of the concert over, Japanese soloist Yu Kosuge’s performance in Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor had already provided the audience with intense excitement. What can easily become a romantic cliché tearjerker, Kosuge handled with lithe, lyrical tone. Both flanking moderato movements surged with inner power and came to life through the tension generated between soloist and the orchestra lead by conductor Michael Helmrath. Kosuge’s lyricism in the adagio movement was outstanding as well and was rewarded with prolonged applause from the full auditorium.

24.04.2006

Märkische Allgemeine

24.04.2006

Through history with fantasy

An inspiring piano recital with young Yu Kosuge

Fantasy is essential to all art forms. Only in music, however, is there a whole compositional category devoted to it. Originally, Fantasy referred to an impromptu instrumental piece. By the 18th century, however, it had evolved into thematically independent instrumental compositions with deliberate, idiosyncratic variations.

On Friday evening in the Nikolaisaal Foyer, Japanese-born Yu Kosuge (1983) gave a stylistically confident performance of Fantasies from Bach to Manuel de Falla. Similar to Bach’s two-voiced inventions, a Fantasy in C Minor was followed by a true virtuouso piece in A Minor. With restrained pedal usage, Yu Kosuge came very close to a perfect Bach interpretation. With Mozart’s Fantasy in D Minor she once again exactly found the right tone and, with precise piano touch, brought a rendition of this work from 1782 to life.

Haydn’s Fantasy in C Major sounded unmistakably like the final movement of a Haydn piano concerto. To complete the three most famous classics, she followed with a very typical Beethoven Fantasy in the far-flung key of B Major. The piece begins with downward tumbling tonal cascades and only cautiously, interrupted by racing sequences, does the lyrical theme take on shape.

Towards the end, the Fantasy dissolves into a theme with variations. Yu Kosuge completely satisfied Beethoven’s demands and she demonstrated the same mastery in Schubert’s Grazer Fantasy. A feisty dance in the middle of the piece released the listener into the intermission. The second half turned romantic with Chopin’s great Fantasy in F Minor from 1840/41. Naturally, Rachmaninow could not be omitted from these Fantasy references. His piece, influenced by Schumann, and the Fugue in D Minor were reminiscent of the first part of Bach’s Well Tempered Piano. But the absolute hit was the final piece of the evening. The Fantasy Baética, dedicated to Rubinstein, united utmost virtuosity with the folkloric passion of de Fallas’ Spanish homeland. These Fantasies, in their unity with composition and interpretation were pure pleasure, highly coveted and served well by the young pianist.