It’s revealing when the quality of a performance is significantly greater in the encore than in most of the recital proper. Since placing fourth at the 2016 Sydney International Piano competition, American Kenny Broberg has experienced significant competition success, winning prizes at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the 2019 International Tchaikovsky competition. His Sydney recital was the last stop in his tour of the country.

Kenny Broberg. Photo © Carolyn Cruz

Broberg’s execution of the Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A sat between orthodox and unorthodox. Combined with interesting pedal choices that blurred the many ornaments present throughout and topped with a vibrato-like motion pianists usually avoid, it seemed as though he was playing on a period instrument, like the clavichord. This mixture of styles seemed a promising combination of the traditional and the modern but was not reflected in the remainder of the recital.

A point must be made here about the pedalling. The tapering off of the pedal in multiple sections across the program was jarring, especially when quarter tone harmonies appeared as if from nowhere during the important moments of a piece. Broberg’s approach to Beethoven’s Sonata...