Lana Ritchie’s Gershwin program marks new direction for Lucas Parklands
Lucas Parklands ventured into unfamiliar territory on Wednesday afternoon, 15th October , hosting New Zealand pianist Lana Ritchie in a program that explored the rarely-heard intersection of classical technique and jazz sensibility.
At just 19 years old, Ritchie is among a small cohort of pianists in Oceania specializing in what might be called “classically inclined jazz” – the demanding repertoire of Gershwin, Kapustin, Bolcom, and other composers who straddled the divide between concert hall and jazz club in the early-to-mid 20th century.
The concert came about through an unusual route. When regular patrons from a Palmwoods retirement village requested Gershwin, venue director Ian Lucas set out to find a pianist capable of delivering the technically challenging repertoire. “Most classical musicians are expected to play Beethoven or Chopin,” Luca s explained. “They’re not expected to play Kapustin, Wild or Hamelin.” The solution arrived via recommendation from New Zealand violinist Amalia Hall, leading Lucas to Ritchie’s YouTube performances. “I invited Lana, who instantly showed enthusiasm and had great ideas,” he said.
A Program of Contrasts
Ritchie opened with Gershwin’s Three Preludes, composed between 1923 and 1926. The first prelude announced her approach – a spirited attack with bright, syncopated rhythms in the left hand answered by delicate triplet figures in the right. The second prelude, which Gershwin described as “a sort of blues lullaby,” drew the audience into focused attention as the C-sharp minor tonality created an evocative mood, with steady left-hand chords supporting a syncopated octave theme.
The third prelude, labeled “Spanish” by Gershwin, brought the set to a dramatic close with paso doble-like energy and powerful downward motifs building to a satisfying conclusion.
Following selections from the Gershwin Song Book – “a kind of transcription version of all of Gershwin’s most famous songs from the musicals that he wrote,” as Ritchie explained – she tackled three of Earl Wild’s virtuosic transcriptions. These demanding works transform Gershwin melodies into elaborate concert etudes requiring rapid scales, intricate rhythms, and dynamic control.
Showcasing Range
The first half concluded with Nikolai Kapustin’s “Big Band Sounds,” Op. 46, a tour-de-force that attempts to recreate an entire jazz orchestra on solo piano. “Nikolai Kapustin and his style is very much written-out jazz,” Ritchie told the audience. “So I can’t improvise like a lot of jazz pianists, but I do a lot of classical jazz, which is why Kapustin embodies that so well.”
The piece drew enthusiastic applause for its brass-like fanfares and rhythmic drive, though the technical demands were clearly substantial for the young performer.
After an interval, Ritchie shifted gears with William Bolcom’s “Graceful Ghost Rag,” a nostalgic 1970 tribute to early American ragtime. The gentle, wistful quality of this “absolutely beautiful, slow rag” provided welcome contrast, its songlike character reminiscent of Romantic-era composers while maintaining ragtime’s characteristic syncopation.
Marc-André Hamelin featured prominently in the second half – not surprisingly, given Ritchie’s recent opportunity to spend time with the legendary Canadian pianist in America. His Etude No. 6, a baroque-flavored homage to Domenico Scarlatti, brought rapid passages and playful hand-crossings. “This is probably the least jazzy piece on the programme today,” Ritchie noted. “I would say it’s more of a contemporary baroque piece.” Hamelin’s variations on Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” drew the loudest applause of the afternoon – a “very funky, very difficult” work that Ritchie admitted she’d “been playing for quite a while now…”, adding “…but I’ll see how it goes!”
The Main Event
Gershwin’s iconic “Rhapsody in Blue” served as the program’s centerpiece. Ritchie performed the solo piano version, which differs from the more familiar orchestral arrangement. “There’s a few sections that are actually cut out intentionally by Gershwin,” she explained. “It’s a very difficult one to do solo piano. You have to kind of emulate the orchestra.”
The work’s sweeping melodies and inventive rhythms captured the spirit Gershwin intended, though the technical challenges of recreating orchestral textures were evident throughout.
As an encore, Ritchie chose something “absolutely nothing to do with jazz” – Gordon McBeth’s “An Idyll,” a rare romantic work by the New Zealand-born composer (1885-1951). The lyrical piece, with its Rachmaninoff-like qualities, provided a gentle, reflective close to an ambitious afternoon.
A Promising Beginning
Currently in her third year studying piano performance at the New Zealand School of Music under Dr. Jian Liu, Ritchie brings an impressive array of recent competition successes: winner of the IRMTNZ Recital Competitions in both 2024 and 2025, first prize in the 2024 NZSM Concerto Competition, and placement on Victoria University’s Dean’s List for Academic Excellence.
Her performance demonstrated both the promise and the challenges of a young artist tackling one of piano repertoire’s most demanding specialties. While moments of the afternoon showed the technical complexities inherent in this music, Ritchie’s commitment to this unusual niche and her clear enthusiasm for these boundary-crossing works suggest a pianist with distinctive artistic goals. “It’s a chance for anybody who likes classical music to come across and see a different style, but no less a style of great music,” Ian Lucas said before the concert. For Lucas Parklands’ audience, accustomed to traditional classical fare, it was certainly that – and a signal that the venue continues to expand its musical horizons.
As Ritchie develops her technique and interpretative depth, this afternoon at Montville may well be remembered as an early chapter in a career dedicated to keeping this demanding repertoire alive.
“Lana Ritchie presents Gershwin and Friends” was performed at Lucas Parklands, Montville, on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
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