The audience of the nearly-packed Washington Center for Performing Arts in Olympia burst into applause, cheers and whistles when Charlie Albright walked on stage just after 7:30 Wednesday night.
Dressed in a classic black tuxedo, Albright grinned from ear-to-ear while bowing before taking his place at the grand piano. The first few notes of Haydn’s “Sonata in E-flat Major” floated over the concert hall as audience members sat in rapt silence.
Albright maneuvered through the quieter sections with the agility of a cat and pounded through swift passages with the ferocity of a lion. Audience members could be heard gasping or saying “Whew!” each time Albright completed an impressive run of notes.
Even though he had no accompaniment, the emotive, sometimes percussive qualities of his playing provided more accompaniment than any symphony could.
Other selections during the first half of the program included “Ricercare and Toccata on a Theme From ‘The Old Maid and the Thief’” by Gian Carlo Menotti and “’Til It Was Dark,” a composition by Young Concert Artists Composer in Residence Chris Rogerson.
The real thrill of the night came in the second half of the program. After a set of Etudes by Chopin, Albright came out for not one, not two, but three encores.
Each time he walked back on stage for another encore, the crowd voiced its approval louder and louder.
On the third encore, Albright smiled and said, “This is it!” before waving at the crowd and sitting down to play his final piece.
Over the entirety of the concert, Albright enjoyed five standing ovations.
In February, Albright debuted at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He will continue his busy concert schedule through May, including performing as a part of the Jewish Community Alliance Concert Series in Jacksonville, Fla., playing Shostakovich’s “Piano Concerto No.2” with the Longwood Symphony Orchestra in Boston, Mass., and playing two nights with the Boston Pops Orchestra, also in Boston.
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Tara Leonard is The Chronicle newsroom’s page designer/web developer. (360) 807-8225.
