In January 2006, Ingrid Fliter won the Gilmore Artist Award, which has quickly equaled and perhaps overtaken the gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition as the most prestigious keyboard honor in the world.
After hearing her Friday evening in her debut with the Colorado Symphony, it is not hard to understand why the selection committee zeroed in on Fliter. She’s every bit as good as advertised — a major artist in every sense of the term.
The fast-rising keyboardist, who was born in Argentina in 1973, offered a defining, utterly secure performance as soloist for Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21. This music is suffused with elegance, mystery and longing, and she gave voice to each in due measure.
Going well beyond superficial showiness and technical flair, Fliter has something of depth and substance to say. She brings a rare complexity of phrasing to her playing, assuring that no notes in a series are the same — each is given its own distinct shading or emphasis, however minute.
Such attention to what can sometimes be microscopic details might not seem that important, but it separates the merely good or very good from what in this case often verged on the transcendent.
This was especially true in Fliter’s poetic, transporting take on the slow second movement, the heart and soul of this concerto. She drew the maximum dramatic impact from each bar, indeed, each note, bringing it all together as a deeply moving whole.
Sadly, she did not top off her performance with an encore, despite a thunderous ovation. But the word is that she will be part of the 2008-09 Friends of Chamber Music season, and after Friday evening, her fans will be counting the days.
Following the guest-conducting misadventures of a couple of weeks ago, it was a joy to have music director Jeffrey Kahane back on the podium. He has had his share of notable nights since taking over the post, but this might have been his best outing yet.
The accompaniment in the Chopin could hardly have been more sensitive, because it was one pianist leading another, with Kahane (a keyboard virtuoso himself) able to anticipate and deftly respond to Fliter’s every interpretative nuance.
This classic program began with the Overture to Gioachino Rossini’s opera “Semiramide.” Sometimes, such openers can be just perfunctory lead-ups to the main event, but this was just the opposite — an attention-grabbing version with abundant brio and spunk.
The high point for Kahane came in the second half with a thrillingly propulsive performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92. Everything was right on, including the crisp articulations, subtle dynamics and brisk tempos, especially in the electrifying fourth movement.
Mark this one down as one of the memorable evenings of the year. The concert will be repeated at 2:30 p.m. today.
Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com
