Classical Pianist Moves Audience to Tears
Applause, standing ovations and tears of joy ….
Dan Franklin Smith entertains at Soka University
Applause, standing ovations and tears of joy abounded in the audience of classical pianist Dan Franklin Smith’s two-hour concert last month at Soka University.
“I love Chopin and the Ballade No. 4 made me cry,” said Georgia Albertson of Aliso Viejo. “I grew up with the song, so it’s embedded in my memory. Just to hear it live, done just so, was such a catharsis. It made me feel life.”
Smith, who lives in New York, played at Soka as part of his three-week tour of California and Arizona. Previous performances of Franck and Chopin led to a return invitation to perform Brahms’ First Piano Concerto with the Tifereth Israel Community Orchestra in San Diego earlier in November. He has also toured Europe extensively to high critical acclaim.
Smith’s performance presented a set of complex variations on musical melodies written by great composers such as Chopin, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff. This was his third concert at Soka University, and the proceeds ($10 for adults) went to benefit the university’s student scholarship fund.
“Because of my work with opera singers, I’m acutely sensitive to musical tonal quality and sound,” Smith said. “I try to bring as much variety of tone quality to the music that I’m playing on the piano as possible.” People may usually think of the piano as a percussion instrument. But depending on the players and the technical approach, the instrument can produce a range of tonal variety that Smith describes as “almost infinite.”
“This isn’t only true for classical music,” said Smith. “I try to use this technique with whatever I play, whatever period and whatever style, whether it’s classical, jazz, baroque or modern.” Smith has been practicing classical piano since childhood, at a time when classical piano was the only style taught to students.
“My older brother was responsible for my learning the piano,” said Smith. “There was a piano in the house when I was younger and I used to play around at it. My brother said I should start studying piano, and he talked to my parents about it. Today, people can go into pop or jazz piano, but back then it was still the traditional way. But I always loved it.”
Audience members seemed to enjoy it, too. “It was a great concert,” said Suzanne Hench of Aliso Viejo. “We brought the entire family, and we’d come again.”
—David K. Smith, Orange County, CA, Friday, December 7, 2007