Van Cliburn winner dazzles with technical mastery

World-class pianist Haochen Zhang shows an exceptional sense of atmosphere, but his interpretations could be erratic

- Geoffrey Lim

CONCERT ZHANG HAOCHEN Victoria Concert Hall May 23, 8pm To do justice to this always riveting, frequently astonishing, sometimes infuriating recital by the preternaturally talented Van Cliburn International Piano Competition laureate Haochen Zhang, one must begin at the end.

The last of Zhang's four encores, Franz Liszt's Chasse-Neige, which depicts a swirling snowfall, encapsulated the most compelling elements of Zhang's playing: a granitic, firmly centred sonority, magnificent technique and an exceptional sense of atmosphere.

Many pianists would kill to play tremolos or chromatic thirds with such effortlessness. In this, and in the encore of Vladimir Horowitz's Carmen Variations that commendably avoided aping the most flamboyant of Horowitz's own mannerisms, Zhang was at his world-class best.

In larger works requiring greater structural command, Zhang made a more erratic impression.