When describing the Mozart Sonata he was about to play (No. 12, if you're interested), Christian Gamboa spoke of such scenes as a distant fanfare of trumpets, a diabolic chase and a court dance "inserted in there somewhere". The pre-piece talk was certainly evocative of Mozart's sonata, but it showed off Gamboa's imagination to an even greater degree. He brought out each individual aspect of the piece in turn, bouncing in his chair and getting more into the piece as it went along. The Adagio within the Mozart was mellifluous and melodious, and the entire piece had a courtly, pleasantly old-fashioned feel. His rendition of the mandated J.S. Bach Prelude and Fugue from "A Well-Mannered Clavier" was similarly stately.
Gamboa is a deliberate pianist. At least in this recital, his sound didn't have a lot of muscle to it, but he was technically sound and rather cautious in his approach (to my ear). I thought I heard a slip-up or two in the Mozart, but he quickly refocused and didn't make that mistake again. Gamboa also proved to be a knowledgeable student of music, drawing viewers' attention to the "pianistic writing" in Elliot Carter's piano sonata. Throughout the Carter, he kept up a sense of gravitas, resisting what must have been a strong urge to just run away with the piece. A large, dramatic conclusion was the pay-off for all the waiting, trailing off into a glitter in the distance.
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