Young Critic Review: Ignas Maknickas – Young Artist Series
Perhaps the most notable aspect of this concert in the 2025 Young Artists series was the enthusiasm with which the audience applauded; each time Ignas Maknickas finished a well-articulated and emotively performed piece, he found himself stranded on the stage for a long moment, attempting to introduce his next piece but forced, under the gaze of an appreciative collection of Lichfeldians, to simply bow again, and again… and again.
He opened with a Schubert Sonata in A Major (D. 664) in which he contrasted moods using not only the dynamics and articulation written in the music, but also his own facial expressions. Gazing wistfully at the ceiling, grinning playfully out of the window behind the piano, or glaring down towards the keys, he brought the music to life with his “face acting” in such a natural way that it is unclear if it was an intended addition to the performance or simply a reflection of his absorption in the music. Although in the third movement the piece itself seemed to rush towards a conclusion, only to then retreat, the audience was left with an impression that the pianist himself did not rush; he was simply a controlled and confident conduit for the emotions within the score.
Ignas moved on from the Schubert to Schumann, and the famous Kinderszenen, or “Scenes from Childhood”. My notes from this set of thirteen miniatures include the descriptors “delicate”, “triumphant”, “soft”, “playful” and “withdrawn” – to list them all would take too much space, but I think these go some way to showing just how varied the performance of these different pieces were. As with the Schubert, he stared dreamily into the distance at times, and seemed to hunch over the keys in fury at others; yet, whatever his posture and expression, he remained technically impeccable, his fingers flying across the keyboard or pressing down into it with the weight of his entire arm, ensuring the piano sang at every moment, be it pianissimo, fortissimo, or anywhere in between. Although some of the scenes were faster than they perhaps could have been, the more melancholy miniatures still managed to create a sensation of calm amidst a storm of rapid scales and strident, furthering the sense of contrast and of a story carefully written and expressively told.
The Kinderszenen was followed by another group of miniatures, this time from contemporary Lithuanian composer Alvidas Remesa, a reclusive Catholic monk. The stigmatas tell the story of the crucifixion, lending gravity to their performance in a church where the piano rested beneath a large rendering of the cross. Although I am not a fan of contemporary music, I remained impressed – as I had been before – by the technical aspects of the performance, with one of my notes being “fast fast fingers!” – clearly I was in too much of a rush to get back to watching to think about commas – and another referencing with awe the use of the piano strings almost like a harp during the fourth miniature, “Misterioso”. The expansion of the dynamics even further than before was also impressive. Ignas chose to consider the fifth and final piece in the set as a rendering not of Christ’s continued suffering on the cross, but of his eventual homecoming to heaven, and managed to create a sense of springtime calm through this final section, in contrast to the tortured discordance of earlier parts.
Without pause, the concert then moved on to a pair of Chopin Nocturnes, op.27 no.1 in C-sharp minor and op.27 no.2 in D-flat major. In this pair of pieces he seemed to tenderly cajole the notes from the piano as he modulated with (as per my notes) “flair and care”. The contrasting moods expressed through dynamics, key changes and as ever his posture and expression, were further brought to life in the notes themselves by his constant light touch on the keys, allowing him to press weight through to the floor or float along the edges of audible sound at will.
All in all, this was a wonderful concert. Ignas Maknickas had to change his programme having suffered an injury, and yet his performance was just as nuanced and lively as might have been expected from a pianist in full health performing the pieces he originally planned. His outstanding performance despite this limitation marks him out as an exceptional pianist and performer.
By Sophie N