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Pamela Kuhn of Center Stage described him as a “forever-evolving” pianist with an outrageous “cool factor.”
Musical Life called him “Extraordinarily inventive, a leading voice and one of the great wonders of modern pianism.”
“Multifaceted” doesn’t even start to describe internationally celebrated, New York-based pia-nist/composer Vyacheslav (Slava) Gryaznov, set to perform locally as part of the Grand Piano Series.
He’s also a sound and software engineer with his own home studio, a videographer, a much-revered transcriber and, as he put it, “everything all at once.”
Now, through a twist-of-fate 11th-hour cancellation, Slava returns to Grand Piano Series after four years that spanned a pandemic and his development of a groundbreaking app, a U.S. conducting debut, and release of his latest album, “Western Transcriptions.”
Series President and Artistic Director Milana Strezeva said, “Vyacheslav Gryaznov (affectionately known as Slava) came to our series back in 2019, and our audience has begged for his return. I am excited he was available and could step in at the last minute to replace Eric Lu.”
“I’m a performer,” Slava said with a chuckle. “It’s my job to be ready.”
As his own sound engineer, he’s been able to experiment with and perfect the way he believes the piano should sound.
“Sound engineering is an art all its own,” he said of this latest chapter in his career journey.
In fact, he developed a virtual orchestra app, G-Phil, which he first used to play and record all the instrumental parts in the score of Rachmaninoff ’s Fourth Concerto.
“By diving so deeply into the full score myself, I learned everything that was going on in there. The app’s purpose is to let pianists practice by themselves with a full orchestra because there are never enough rehearsals for a concerto. Toscanini used to do 50 rehearsals; now we have just one or even none.”
The greatest of Western composers — Bach, Liszt, Ravel, Rachmaninoff — honored those who came before them through transcription, reframing their earlier works for different instruments.
Like them, Slava has put his own spin on countless compositions, including “Rhapsody in Black,” which he calls a hybrid composition/arrangement of George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.”
“I didn’t want to create just a medley of songs,” he said. “I wanted to make a sequel that continues Porgy’s story, leaving Catfish Row to follow his beloved Bess to New York. I asked: What if he reached New York?”
Of his more than 40 renowned transcriptions, he said, “My credo is to look very much back, centuries in the past. It’s interesting to combine fresh modern ideas with such old music. It’s a very spicy combination.
“Each of my transcriptions has some interesting, unique idea behind it. It’s never just a literal transcription. One of my goals is to make any music not written for piano sound coherent and satisfying on this particular instrument. My goal is not to imitate, but always to reframe a piece for a different environment.”
His Bonita Springs recital will be a traditional recital, he says. But because this is Slava, it will include his own explorations and interpretations.
Of Rameau and the French Baroque, still a new area for him, he said, “This music provides a lot of freedom and requires a lot of responsibility of the musician. The score has no tempo or dynamics, so you’re on your own. And this is the most exciting part for me.
“And Rachmaninoff. Well, Rachmaninoff is always Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff is my musical dad, a major inspiration for me as a musician, a pianist, a composer, a conductor, a human being, every-thing. Almost every program I play includes his music. With him it’s always a journey, always a pleasure, a feeling that we are one team working together.”
The program’s “Pièces-fantasies” include Rachmaninoff ’s own reworking, just before his death, of two pieces that he first created at 19.
“They show an arc from the beginning to the end,” said Slava. “It’s interesting to witness what he changed in those pieces and how his style evolved.”
So, what’s next in Slava’s forever-evolving arc?
“That’s a good question!” he said, laughing. “In which area?” ¦
Vyacheslav Gryaznov: Music of Rameau, Chopin & Rachmaninoff
Grand Piano Series » Where: St. Leo Auditorium, 28290 Beaumont Rd., Bonita Springs. » When: Thursday, Dec. 14 at 7:30 p.m. » Tickets: $45 ($50 at the door) at www.grandpianoseries.org. » For assistance, call: 469-333-3231
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