What better way to celebrate the birthday of noted pianist Franz Liszt than to get together and listen to a concert in his honor?

Upon my arrival into Capistrano’s music hall, most of the audience was sitting on the left side, but not many were on the right. I sat on the right side, thinking I would have a great view of pianist Eduardus Halim’s face. Only when the concert started did I realize why everyone was sitting on the left: the audience wanted to watch his hands glide over the piano.

While I happened to miss that part, I did get to see his face, or shall I say, faces. When Halim started to play the first movement, his face expressed relative calm. As he got further into each new movement, his facial expressions would get intense with a furrowed brow, and his head would tilt or bob sharply with the music. It was a sight to see.

The concert commemorated Liszt’s 200th birthday celebration. Halim played Liszt’s “Twelve Transcendental Etudes, S. 139” straight through, without an intermission.

I was in awe of every movement Halim played. Each was beautiful in its own way, and quite a few were dark and intense. When the notes were softer and easy flowing, it was beautiful to hear. The music seemed more dark and intense when the notes got heavy sounding with an almost pounding quality.

Meredith Carey, senior pre-nursing, said she found Halim’s performance to be amazing.

“It was very calm and it was kind of mystical,” Carey said. “Other times it was very loud.”

The second movement, “Molto vivace” in A minor, was soft, slow and almost dream-like. No. 6, titled “Vision” in G minor, was fun to hear. I did not recognize the beginning, but I was able to recognize the end of it. Another song that most people know of was No. 9, “Ricordanza,” in A-flat major, which was absolutely beautiful and euphoric with its quick, high notes. Carey said she recognized it as well.

Halim, according to the night’s program, is of Chinese descent and was born in Indonesia. He learned piano early on. It also said Halim played Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto at age 11 and in 1980, came to the United States to attend The Juilliard School.

The audience was diverse in age. There were toddler-aged children, teenagers, middle-aged adults, and senior citizens; it is always nice to have large diversities in a community at a single event.

One audience member, Chuck Rockard, said he enjoyed the performance.

Todd Puckett, another audience member, said Halim’s performance of the Etudes was remarkable.

“He started out with the Apparitions and then with the Transcendental Etudes,” Puckett said. “The Transcendental Etudes is a beast. The piece is like playing a few of Beethoven’s sonatas back to back. It’s impressive, absolutely impressive.”

When the final movement ended, the audience gave Halim a standing ovation, of which he seemed extremely grateful, giving many bows. After the concert, the audience lingered outside for refreshments and most importantly, to get a glimpse of Halim.

Many asked for his autograph and took pictures with the pianist. Halim seemed eager to talk with his fans, with a big smile on his face.

I thoroughly enjoyed the concert and would love to see more performances by Halim. Next time I will sit on the left side in order to see his hands dance over the keys.

Courtney Owen can be reached at [email protected].