Recital Watch: Abbie Gabrielson

Evans Auditorium hummed quietly last Thursday as music-lovers gathered for Abbie Gabrielson’s (’10) sophomore recital. The piano sat atop the stage, lit with a few lights—lonely, and ready to be played.

The crowd exploded in hoots and applause when Gabrielson stepped out onto the stage, sparkling and beaming across the rows. A hush took over the auditorium as she gracefully took her seat on the piano bench, lifted her hands and began to play. Her first and best piece, Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G major, immediately captivated the audience, as she played the most fragile of Rachmaninoff’s works with sensitivity and an aura of mystique, as if she were on the outskirts of a dream.

Her second piece was more of a spectacle, but this had little to do with Gabrielson’s playing.  Somewhere between the Schumann piece, the lights in the auditorium clicked off, one by one, until no light was left. There was a moment of awkward pause before the lights flashed back on to Gabrielson, rocking with laughter. The audience laughed and cheered, tension assuaged as they realized Gabrielson was a champion: She was so good, she had just blacked out Evans. The show went on without a hitch, including a sonata by Beethoven (the second movement won) and another piece by Rachmaninoff, this one a more typical dragon of a piece, one that could have been tamed a bit more for full effect.

Gabrielson is a sophomore double-majoring in French studies and, of course, piano. Her recital pieces included Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G major, Schumann’s Papillons, Op.2, Beethoven’s Sonata in E Major, Op. 14, No.1 and Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G minor. Her piano instructor is Prof. Orla McDonagh.