My discovery of Nicholas Phan was a little backwards: I linked from mezzo
Jennifer Rivera's blog to his, and only then to
his website, where I duly investigated audio clips which inspired me to mark the date for his Carnegie Hall debut this past Friday. Phan's own
blog provided me with my homework material: reflections and history on
Purcell and
Britten, the composers to whose work his recital was dedicated. Carnegie Hall has videos, which I discovered only after the fact, on the
preparation of the recital and on
Phan's obsession with Britten. It was a program both passionate and (for me, at least) challengingly cerebral, which Phan delivered with vivid, versatile characterization and impressive command of dynamics and phrasing. The complete program, with notes, may be found
here.
