Review: Jason Bae piano recital at Globe Theatre a stand-out concert worthy of larger audience

Jason Bae has an affinity with French music having spent time in Paris as a conductor and pianist. Photo / Supplied

Jason Bae Piano Recital
Globe Theatre
Wednesday, June 23
Reviewed by Roger Buchanan

When I was asked to review this concert I took one look at the publicity photo and concluded I would be reviewing a teenage pianist.

It turns out he graduated from Westlake Boys' High in 2008, putting him in his early 30s! On stage, though, he still looks a youthful 18. Born in South Korea, Jason Bae delivered his first concerto performance with the Auckland Symphony at age 12.

After initial training in New Zealand he received tuition in England and Europe as a concert pianist and conductor and has subsequently performed in numerous countries.

Bae has an affinity with French music having spent time in Paris as a conductor and pianist. This concert, hosted by Palmerston North's Alliance Française was, unsurprisingly, a tribute to French piano repertoire. I could be forgiven for anticipating at least one work by France's most ubiquitous composer, Debussy.

But Bae had other ideas and convincingly demonstrated there is more to French piano music than Clair de lune and Le petit nègre with a Gymnopédie thrown in for good measure. (Mind you I wouldn't be surprised if the woke community has banned Le petit nègre, or at least renamed it La petite personne de couleur or similar.)

The first half of the match was devoted to three works by the impressionist Ravel, beginning with his famous Pavane pour une infante défunte and followed by his Sonatine and Le Tombeau de Couperin. From the first bar the artist had his audience mesmerised.

We were taken on a journey that ranged from the exhilarating to the sublime and back again. After half-time Gabriel Fauré's Ballade was followed by one of my favourite French composers, Francis Poulenc. While I hadn't before heard Les soirées de Nazelles, this suite of short pieces had Poulenc's stamp all over them. He is, simply, le maître de quirk, whose work always leaves a smile on one's face.

This was a stand-out recital, worthy of a larger audience. I will be keeping an eye on Jason Bae's career - he has that je ne sais quoi that makes you want to come back for more.

So merci beaucoup, Alliance Française, pour une bonne soirée et pour le travail que vous faites dans la communauté.