Climbing down the dizzying spiral of stairs, I did not know what to expect the Baruch Performing Arts Center to look like. I was met with an intimate, well lit auditorium with a quaint stage with a shining black grand piano. The lights reflected off the smooth lacquered wood, and the audience members chattered in anticipation.
Finally, a woman in a red dress and a black blazer jacket walks to the stage, and introduces herself as Sara Davis Buechner. After a string of tasteful political jokes, she sits at the piano, and with her fingers produces the charming melody of a Mozart piece. Having explained the background information of the piece, Buechner plays the complexities of the song with ease. I notice the pauses that Buechner explained as rendering the piece to be one of Mozart’s most experimental, and I wonder what drew Sara Buechner to it.
As Sara plays the music, I notice how she moves and invests herself emotionally in her work. My mother, a trained pianist, always told me that real pianists play with a tangible feeling, and I could definitely see this quality in Sara. It was almost as if the music spoke with a meaning that transcends spoken word. The facial expressions were moving. Her movements mirrored the longing in some parts of the piece that hit me almost too hard.
Next came the Chopin piece that, Sara Buechner explained, turned Paris upside down. The piece, so lively and quick paced, was a change after the Mozart Piece. Buechner’s fingers danced across the keys, and the lightheartedness of the piece was very refreshing.
Sara Davis Buechner’s show was a showcasing of such immense talent. Her music moved me in many ways, even though I am not trained or well versed in compositional music at all. I appreciate, and have always appreciated, the art of playing classical music. Having quit the piano when I was younger, I regret it and I appreciate people who have learned how to play it. It is not an easy feat, but the results of the hard work and dedication are truly beautiful.
