A Humid Recital Stirs Bangkok
 
     (This review, by Kenneth Langbell, appeared in the English language
 Bangkok Post.  It was made available by Martin Bernheimer of the Los
 Angeles Times.)
 
     THE RECITAL last evening in the chamber music room of the Erewan Hotel
 by US. pianist Myron Kropp, the first appearance of Mr. Kropp in Bangkok,
 can only be described by this reviewer and those who witnessed Mr. Kropp's
 performance as one of the most interesting experiences in a long time.
     A hush fell over the room as Mr. Kropp appeared from the right of the
 stage, attired in black formal evening-wear with a small, white poppy in
 his lapel.  With sparse, sandy hair, a sallow complexion and a deceptively
 frail looking frame, the man who has repopularized Johann Sebastian Bach
 approached the Baldwin Concert Grand, bowed to the audience and placed
 himself upon the stool.
     It might be appropriate to insert at this juncture that many pianists,
 including Mr. Kropp, prefer a bench, maintaining that on a screw-type stool
 they sometimes find themselves turning sideways during a particularly
 expressive strain.  There was a slight delay, in fact, as Mr. Kropp left
 the stage briefly, apparently in search of a bench, but returned when
 informed there was none.
 
     AS I HAVE mentioned on several other occasions, the Baldwin Concert
 Grand, while basically a fine instrument, needs constant attention,
 particularly in a climate such as Bangkok.  This is even more true when the
 instrument is as old as the one provided in the chamber music room of the
 Erewan Hotel.  In this humidity the felts which separate the white keys
 from the black tend to swell, causing an occasional key to stick, which
 apparently was the case last evening with the D in the second octave.
     During the "raging storm" section of the D-Minor Toccata and Fugue, Mr.
 Kropp must be complimented for putting up with the awkward D.  However, by
 the time the "storm" was past and he had gotten into the Prelude and Fugue
 in D Major, in which the second octave D plays a major role, Mr. Kropp's
 patience was wearing thin.
     Some who attended the performance later questioned whether the awkward
 key justified some of the language which was heard coming from the stage
 during softer passages of the fugue.  However, one member of the audience,
 who had sent his children out of the room by the midway point of the fugue,
 had a valid point when he commented over the music and extemporaneous
 remarks of Mr. Kropp that the workman who greased the stool might have done
 better to use some of the grease on the second octave D.  Indeed, Mr.
 Kropp's stool had more than enough grease, and during one passage in which
 the music and lyrics both were particularly violent Mr. Kropp was turned
 completely around.  Whereas before his remarks had been aimed largely at
 the piano and were therefore somewhat muted, to his surprise and that of
 those in the chamber music room he found himself addressing himself
 directly to the audience.
 
     BUT SUCH THINGS do happen, and the person who began to laugh deserves
 to be severely reprimanded for this undignified behavior.  Unfortunately,
 laughter is contagious, and by the time it had subsided and the audience
 had regained its composure Mr. Kropp appeared to be somewhat shaken.
 Nevertheless he swiveled himself back into position facing the piano and,
 leaving the D-Major Fugue unfinished, commenced on the Fantasia and Fugue
 in G Minor.    Why the concert grand piano's G key in the third octave
 chose that particular time to begin sticking I hesitate to guess.  However,
 it is certainly safe to say that Mr. Kropp himself did nothing to help
 matters when he began using his feet to kick the lower portion of the piano
 instead of operating the pedals as is generally done.
 
     Possibly it was this jarring, or the un-Bach-like hammering to which
 the sticking keyboard was being subjected.  Something caused the right
 front leg of the piano to buckle slightly inward, leaving the entire
 instrument listing at approximately a 35-degree angle from that which is
 normal.  A gasp went up from the audience, for if the piano had actually
 fallen several of Mr. Kropp's toes, if not both his feet, would surely have
 been broken.
     It was with a sigh of relief, therefore, that the audience saw Mr.
 Kropp slowly rise from the stool and leave the stage.  A few men in the
 back of the room began clapping, and when Mr. Kropp reappeared a moment
 later it seemed he was responding to the ovation.  Apparently, however, he
 had left to get the red-handled fire ax which was hung back stage in case
 of fire, for that was what he had in his hand.
 
     MY FIRST REACTION at seeing Mr. Kropp begin to chop at the left leg of
 the grand piano was that he was attempting to make it tilt at the same
 angle as the right leg and thereby correct the list.  However, when the
 weakened legs finally collapsed altogether and Mr. Kropp continued to chop,
 it became obvious to all that he had no intention of going on with the
 concert.
     The ushers, who had heard the snapping of piano wires and splintering
 of sounding board from the dining room, came rushing in and, with the help
 of the hotel manager, two Indian watchmen and a passing police corporal,
 finally succeeded in disarming Mr. Kropp and dragging him off the stage.
 
 (09/12/94 09:58:47)