Continuum: Spotlight on Georgia

Continuum: Spotlight on Georgia
Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY
May 9, 2010

Continuum, now in its 44th season under the direction of founders Cheryl Seltzer and Joel Sachs, appears to be more vital than ever. A recent program focusing on new works by composers from the Republic of Georgia underscored this impression. We heard four U.S Premieres and a World Premiere by composers we might otherwise encounter only in piecemeal fashion, if at all (with Giya Kancheli being the possible exception), all tied together in memorable and meaningful ways, including informative notes and the opportunity to hear two of the composers speak. Incidentally the only work that was not a premiere was Kancheli’s Psalm 23 from “Exile,” a work that Continuum premiered in the 1990’s.

The program opened with Four Quartet Miniatures (1947-1978) by Sulkhan Tsintsadze (1925-1991), the only deceased composer of the five presented. Including “Lale” (1947), “Shepherd’s Dance” (1951), “Didavoi Nana” (1978) and “Khorumi” (1978), the folk-like string quartet selections reminded one of Bartok, but with a lyricism that is perhaps uniquely Georgian. They established beautifully the “roots” of the Georgian program, and Renée Jolles, Airi Yoshioka, Stephanie Griffin, and Kristina Reiko Cooper played with both polish and affection.

Ms. Griffin returned to the stage to play “Cadenza” (2007), a study in duality for solo viola by Zurab Nadareishvili (b.1957). The work juxtaposes shades of Berg’s “Wozzeck” in the upper register against an earthy folk bass, sometimes in rapid alternation – quite a tour de force. Griffin was more than up to the challenges, technically and emotionally.

Psalm 23 from “Exile” (1994) by Giya Kancheli (b. 1935) closed the first half with expanded forces including Mary Mackenzie (soprano), Ulla Suokko (flute), and Paul Sharp (double bass), along with Griffin, Cooper, Seltzer (synthesizer and tape), and Sachs conducting. A haunting setting of the famous Biblical text “The Lord is my shepherd”, it uses tonality in what the program notes aptly describe as “a fresh expression of timeless values.” Otherworldly combinations of taped and live music created a mystical feeling, such that one hardly paid attention to the fine playing of individual performers, who served the music as one.

Josef Bardanashvili (b. 1948), who had traveled from Israel to hear his pieces and speak after intermission, was as exuberant in his speaking personality as he emerged in his music. His “Sola” for guitar (2006), a fascinating work, ran the gamut from Bachian beginnings to a range of contemporary outpourings that never felt incongruous within the improvisatory flow of it all. Oren Fader was the excellent guitarist. Hana Ajiashvili, the other composer who had flown in from Israel, suggested connections between Georgian improvisation and polyphony and her own music (with its indeterminate elements and complex textures), but reflected an international style in “My God, the Soul You Placed Within Me” (2007). Perhaps the thorniest work of the evening, it employed difficult atonal writing and strident clusters suggesting the texts of three very dark poems by Yehuda Amichai. The effect, captured well by Mackenzie, Jolles, Bryant, Seltzer, and clarinetist Moran Katz, was wildly expressive.

The evening closed with one more work by Bardanashvili, the World Premiere of his “Farewell Song – In Memory of My Parents” (2008) for solo clarinet (Katz, playing the part written for Giora Feidman) and solo cello (Cooper), with strings conducted by Joel Sachs. Ms. Katz, a force of nature (who also translated from Hebrew for Mr. Bardanashvili), played three clarinets brilliantly: standard, piccolo, and bass clarinets. Her dynamic and timbral ranges, complemented wonderfully by Ms. Cooper’s luscious cello sound, brought intense expressivity to this profoundly sad work. All in all, it was an enlightening evening that whetted the appetite to know more Georgian music.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Dan Franklin Smith, piano

Dan Franklin Smith, piano
Musica de Camara
Museum of the City of New York
May 2, 2010

Dan Franklin Smith is a pianist that any composer should feel lucky to have as an advocate. In “A Musical Tapestry for the Beginning of the 21st Century,” a program featuring eight composers ranging in age from their twenties to mid-eighties, Mr. Smith drew the best from each work. His artistry and versatility seemed to know no bounds.

Opening the program were two premieres starting with Three Dances for Piano (1995) by Susan Riley-Caldini (b. 1952). From the gently lyrical “Dusk” and “Dawn” to the syncopated center, “Dancing Hard in the Moonlight,” Smith’s interpretations had immediate appeal. Promising student David Robert Johnson (b. 1988) was represented next in his “Rhapsody and Postlude” (from Suite for Piano, 2006). An improvisatory work that could have seemed facile in lesser hands, it explored some romantic and impressionistic-sounding colors, which Smith brought out beautifully.

The famous “Blue Rondo a la Turk” (1960) by Dave Brubeck (b. 1920) might be thought of as an “old chestnut,” but it sprang to life, fresh as ever, partly due to a careful program order. Following in a jazz vein were three movements from “Portraits in Jazz” (2001) by Valerie Capers (b.1935). “Bossa Brasilia” and “Waltz for Miles” evoked jazz greats with a touch of nostalgia, but it was “Billie’s Song” that showed Capers to be something of a magician in evoking the singer’s pianistic timbres – with Smith as her able assistant.

Alison Nowak (b.1948) broke from the program’s predominant tonality with her Three Inventions for Piano (2008). Carefully crafted, sometimes approaching pointillism, the work was given a committed performance that seemed to delight the composer.

The “find” of the afternoon for this listener was a work entitled “The Star to Every Wandering Bark” (2003), by Richard Pearson Thomas (b. 1957). Inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, the work showed such ravishing lyricism and meaningful development, that I left the concert determined to obtain the score and anything else by this composer. Moments could be described as Coplandesque, but Mr. Thomas writes from an undeniably individual voice. Kudos to Mr. Smith for this excellent introduction!

Intermezzo (2006) by Francesco Lecce-Chong introduced another promising young artist in a work of considerable range and virtuosity. Smith handled it with polish and drama, capping it off with the marvelous set “Three South American Sketches” by Andre Previn (b. 1929). It was a brilliant close to an outstanding recital.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Benefit Concert for Haiti

Benefit Concert for Haiti
Xu Hui, piano;
Frank Lévy, piano;
Andy McCullough, tenor
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
February 22, 2010

In the wake of Haiti’s disastrous earthquake, it is heartening to see numerous concerts by musicians joining forces to raise funds, and a recital by Xu Hui and Frank Lévy was among them. Though the audience was small, the spirit of giving was palpable.

Opening with the four-hand work, En Bateau from Debussy’s Petite Suite, the duo gave a gently lilting—if off-the-cuff—reading. Xu Hui continued in a meditative vein with Liszt’s Transcendental Etude No. 9, Ricordanza. It was refreshing to hear this work alone, as a special homage or remembrance, rather than as part of a barrage of blockbuster etudes. Xu Hui gave the work the sensitivity and patient lyricism it needs.

The programming of Gaspard de la Nuit by Ravel raised expectations that the evening would officially “set sail,” but tonal beauty and polish took precedence over drama here. Ondine’s vexation was subdued, and even the nightmarish visage of Scarbo took on a silky veneer. Xu Hui has tremendous potential if she widens her range a bit. To close the first half, Andy McCullough sang An American Hymn, an appropriately nostalgic song by Lee Holdridge (b. 1944, Port-Au-Prince), with Xu Hui at the piano. Though a lovely gesture, it effectively underscored the absence of other composers born in—or with connections to—Haiti; there are several other composers that could have been included to enhance the evening’s theme.

Frank Lévy’s portion of the program opened with Scarlatti’s Sonata, L. 457 in C Major, thoughtfully wrought, even if pedaling became tricky with such a resonant piano. Schubert’s Four Impromptus, Op. 90 enjoyed the command of a mature master with a marvelous ability to bend a phrase at just the right time. Liszt’s Vallée d’Obermann, commendably performed, elicited an encore of Chopin’s Nocturne in D-flat, Op. 27, No. 1, which was played with breathtaking delicacy. The evening was capped off with a four-hand encore: Dvorak’s Slavonic Dance in E minor from his Opus 72.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Denitsa Laffchieva, clarinet; Ofer Canetti, cello; Maria Prinz, piano

Denitsa Laffchieva, clarinet;
Ofer Canetti, cello;
Maria Prinz, piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
February 11, 2010

Three musicians from different corners of the world, Maria Prinz from Bulgaria; Denitsa Laffchieva from Bulgaria—but residing in London; and Ofer Canetti from Israel, converged recently to perform a program of Debussy, Strauss and Zemlinsky. The concert was presented by MidAmerica Productions. Each musician impressed in different ways, not always complementary to one another, but ultimately providing a stimulating evening to their large audience.

Opening with Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie for clarinet and piano, Prinz provided a gently colored backdrop for Laffchieva’s silky, elegant clarinet sound. Both players managed the challenges of the work with grace and ease overall, though this listener somewhat missed the sensuous abandon heard in favorite performances. Perhaps simply living with the work a bit more would help. It’s also possible that placing the piano lid on the half-stick (it was on full) might have rendered pianistic details less constraining to the clarinetist.

Ofer Canetti joined forces with the versatile Ms. Prinz in Strauss’s Sonata, Op. 6. This was a full-bodied and impassioned performance. Canetti is a powerfully communicative young musician of strong temperament and technique. Some slipping of the endpin at the beginning seemed ready to derail things, but he drove it into the floor with force (from a height and with a loud thud) and continued. One was at first surprised by this harpooning exhibition, but with a player as naturally expressive and unselfconscious as Mr. Canetti, such matters may unfortunately escape consideration. Unfazed, he dove deeply into the work, projecting each nuance with sensitivity, while keeping a firm grip on the larger structure. Prinz ably held her own with her demanding part (made more so by some unruly page-turns). A piano on half-stick and more regular collaboration will bring them to an even higher level.

The second half consisted of the Zemlinsky Trio, Op. 3, a challenging, Brahmsian work that requires a special advocacy to pull it off. It seemed under-rehearsed here; despite some beautiful solos passed between clarinet and cello, there was some groping in the dark for the music’s shape and direction. The third movement of the Brahms Op. 114 Trio was played as an encore, and the performance made one wish that that trio had been played instead of the Zemlinsky.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Nadejda Vlaeva, piano

Nadejda Vlaeva, piano
Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY
December 10, 2009

The odds of hearing Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 1 in recital are rather slim (compared to the seventh, eighth, and others), but when a pianist combines it with the Piano Sonata No. 2 of Ukrainian-born Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877-1952), a composer whose works are seldom recorded or performed, one knows that an unusual musical mind is at work. Add the Variations on “Dilmano, Dilbero” Op. 2 by Alexander Vladigerov (1933-1993) and the World Premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Variations on a Theme of Schubert, Op. 100, and one has a unique evening to remember. That was what it was when Nadejda Vlaeva took the stage recently, offering also some of Liadov’s most beautiful Preludes (the D-flat, Op. 57, No. 1 and the B minor, Op. 11, No. 1) and the much more familiar Sonata “Après une Lecture du Dante” by Liszt.

Ms. Vlaeva showed throughout the evening that she has the intellectual and digital power to play anything she chooses. It was a joy to hear such effortless mastery, though at times things seemed a trifle too easy (revealing less of the involvement that sometimes redeems players of lesser gifts). Such facility may be what pushes Ms. Vlaeva towards the challenges of uncharted territory, but whatever the case may be, her forays are a refreshing break from the standard fare. Her Prokofiev illuminated phrases this listener had forgotten were there. Her sensitive interpretations of Liadov gently bridged Prokofiev and Bortkiewicz (both Liadov students).

This listener was not completely sold on the Bortkiewicz Sonata, which seemed a pastiche of other Romantics without a completely convincing cohesiveness; nonetheless, one has trouble imagining it played much better and will look forward to a second hearing. Ms. Vlaeva has recorded the work and given it its North American premiere.

Vladigerov’s syncopated Variations were a good antidote to this lush romanticism, and Liebermann’s excellent set of variations (commissioned for Ms. Vlaeva) brought Schubert’s “Heidenröslein” brilliantly and expressively into the twenty-first century.

After the Dante Sonata, as polished as expected, Ms. Vlaeva played three encores, Rebikov’s “Christmas Waltz,” Rebikov’s Musical Snuff Box, and Liszt’s “Les Cloches de Geneve.” Brava!

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Piano Concertos with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra

Piano Concertos with the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra
Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Symphony Space, New York, NY
December 1, 2009

The young presenting organization, New York Concert Artists and Associates (est. 2008), continued its work in an ambitious evening that included the Brahms Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87, Mozart’s Piano Concerto in B-flat Major, K. 595, and Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto.

The Brahms Trio, though a seeming anomaly in a program billed as Piano Concertos, held its own quite well, almost outweighing the concerti in range and texture.  Pianist Yoojin Oh joined forces with Olivier Fluchaire, violin, and Peter Sanders, cello, in a performance of exceptional blending and dovetailing. Well polished (except for one or two rough moments, such as the second movement double-stops), the interpretation was striking for its unity and will undoubtedly gain more breathing room with further performing. The trio section of the Scherzo was a high point, finding the three musicians at their most impassioned.

In the Mozart Concerto, the excellent soloist was Jihye Synn, a DMA candidate at Rutgers (with degrees also from the Manhattan School of Music). Her playing was characterized by clear, fluid runs, and carefully shaped melodies. She collaborated well with the conductor, David Leibowitz, maintaining intense focus despite some patchy playing in the strings. Occasionally she seemed to shrink excessively from the crests and forte moments, but her delicacy was admirable. Her embellishment of the second movement lines helped sustain them without being obtrusive, and the final Allegro saw an extemporized (or unintended?) addition to Mozart’s own cadenza.

Beethoven’s Fourth Concerto, with Gyehwa Kim as the accomplished soloist, concluded the program. Ms. Kim is a commendable pianist with credentials to support that fact, including degrees from Peabody and the University of Montreal (DMA), and, as one might expect, she showed a good technique, memory, and general grasp; for unknown reasons, however, there seemed not to be quite the meeting of minds that there needs to be in such a substantial and magnificent work. Soloist and orchestra interacted almost incidentally at times, with some glibness and scrambles ensuing.

All in all, though, one has to doff one’s hat to such a program, outside the bailiwick of the more prominent halls.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Michail Lifits, piano

Michail Lifits, piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
November 23, 2009

Pianist Mikhail Lifits is on quite a winning streak. At his recent solo recital as First Prize winner of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition, his impressive biography did not even list his top prize in the Busoni Competition, which he had won too recently to list!

Hearing his Schumann Arabesque, Op. 18, one could easily imagine how Mr. Lifits charmed several juries in one season: he has strong musical imagination, highly personal phrasing and dynamics, and none of the noisy hokum that abounds in contests. That said, it should be interesting to see how he develops and controls (or doesn’t) some rather eccentric tendencies apparent throughout the evening. Rubato was stretched at points to excess, and phrases were frequently what one might call “front-loaded” with lines starting richly and fading to perilously fine threads (occasionally disappearing or needing to be revived, as with a string player running out of bow). While the latter characteristic enhanced moments of the Arabesque, it can seem formulaic if one is not careful. In any case, there was in each work a compelling individuality that kept one listening intently, and Schumann’s Fantasy Op. 17 was given an especially sensitive and poetic reading, closing the first half quite well.

Four “Moments Musicaux” Op. 16, by Rachmaninoff opened the second half with brilliance and a wonderful flexibility in shifts of mood. Occasional reverse dynamics baffled here, as elsewhere, but the overall performance was potent.

The Suite for Piano by Daron Hagen was brought to life by more of this pianist’s expert changes of mood, from the jazzy and conversational to the haunting and lyrical. The work itself (a commissioned piece at the Van Cliburn Competition, given its NY premiere here) came as an effective buffer between two Russian giants, particularly before Prokofiev’s Seventh Sonata, which concluded the program. Lifits lit into the Prokofiev with no holds barred and some stunningly powerful contrasts.

An encore of Chopin’s posthumous Nocturne in C-sharp minor (of debatable provenance) closed the evening, offering more of this pianist’s sensitive inflections. The magical close left one looking forward to much more.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Yoko Suzuki, piano

Yoko Suzuki, piano
Frank and Camille’s Piano Salon, New York, NY
November 20, 2009

Appearing in the United States for the first time, pianist Yoko Suzuki played an excellent recital of Spanish music. Tokyo-born, Ms. Suzuki received her Masters degree at the Marshall Academy in Barcelona (where she currently resides) and has performed regularly in both Europe and Japan. She lists among her teachers the recently deceased Alicia de Larrocha.

Opening with an emotive Evocacion from Iberia Book I by Albeniz, Ms. Suzuki showed remarkable suppleness of phrasing, though occasionally her tempo felt a bit slow and lacking in the dreamy flow that one admired in her teacher’s playing. El Puerto, which followed, was spirited and polished. Next came a work of the underrated Mompou, his Canción y danza No. 6. Ms. Suzuki brought out the poignant harmonies just right, conveying a strong identification with this style.

The Maiden and the Nightingale (from Goyescas) and Allegro Concierto, both by Granados, followed. In each case the Lisztian element was dominant, the trills and passagework perhaps intensified by the bright Yamaha and live room.

After a brief intermission, Ms. Suzuki was joined by Yukiko Tanaka (primo) in four-hand pieces, starting with three of Mompou’s playful Comptines. Also for four hands (Ms. Suzuki now Primo) were Montsalvatge’s Tres Divertimentos, again lighter fare. Josep Garcia Gago, a relatively novel name here in the U.S., was the composer of the next solo, Triptico Romantica, which was anything but novel in the styles of its three movements, Schumanniana, Berceuse, and Impaciencia, the latter played with wonderful restless surges.

Ms. Suzuki concluded her recital with De Falla’s Fantasia Baetica; while lilting in the lyrical spots and well mastered in the demanding passages, it was not quite as fiery as this reviewer would like.

The first encore, the Ritual Fire Dance from El Amor Brujo, was effective, especially with Suzuki’s introduction, using music from the preceding “A Media Noche.”  Danza del Molinero from The Three-Cornered Hat of Falla closed the fine recital. Incidentally several of the works on this program can be heard on her 2007 recording entitled “Spanish Piano” and released on the Columna Musica label.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Orlay Alonso, piano

Orlay Alonso, piano
The Church of the Heavenly Rest, New York, NY
November 8, 2009

In an exciting and varied program, Orlay Alonso captivated his audience with a solo recital that showed his communicative gifts, both in his personable style in addressing the audience and his projective performances. It was a joy to be in the audience.

Satie’s Sports et Divertissements (for Piano and Narrator) opened, with Mr. Alonso’s wife capably narrating. Satie’s twenty short movements suggest a delightfully random series of images and emotions, including mock solemnity, flirtation, confetti, a tennis match, water, hunting, tangos, golf, and more; the text-painting ranges from the obvious to the tenuous, but in Mr. Alonso’s projective, quasi- choreographic presentation, the listener’s imagination was always stimulated. Bravo!

On a more serious note Ravel’s Sonatine followed. Sensitively phrased, with some especially beautiful left hand voicing, the work showed the pianist to be capable of fine gradations and subtleties. Tonally the piece benefited from some of the space’s ample reverberation, though occasionally one wanted more of the sparkling top notes in the finale (and the piano sound did seem generally stronger in the bass).

With hardly a two-minute “intermission” Mr. Alonso returned to give Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 110 an excellent performance. He played with considerable intelligence and the intense feeling that the piece inspires (and requires!). One wished for drier acoustics for this work, but the pianist adapted; in only a few spots did one think that a bit less pedal might have helped.

Book I of Iberia by Albeniz brought the afternoon to a successful close. Clearly, this pianist has a strong feeling for these works, Evocacion, El Puerto, and El Corpus en Sevilla, and he shared it well.

Mr. Alonso announced at the recital that his new teacher was present, Juana Zayas; having had an already impressive array of teachers, from Lillian Kallir and Claude Frank to fellow Cuban-American Horacio Gutierrez, Mr. Alonso’s wealth of gifts seems destined simply to increase.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Thomas Schultz, Piano

Thomas Schultz, piano
Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
October 23, 2009

The announcement of pianist Thomas Schultz’s October New York recital stirred high hopes, as his outstanding 2006 performance had this reviewer waxing rhapsodic. Those hopes were met in some regards, but less so in others.

The first surprise came in the programming itself. Known for his adventurous mix of old and new and a keen sense of musical chemistry between works, on this occasion Mr. Schultz presented only two works, both in the mainstream literature and neither lacking a distinguished performance history; Schubert’s Sonata in B-flat, D.960,
was the first half, and the Brahms Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel, Op. 24, was the second. While there is a fine line between a specialty and a pigeonhole, Mr. Schultz’s less well-known 20th century works had been a huge plus in the prior program; Brahms and Schubert, on the other hand, set the recital up for comparison with numerous of the world’s greatest performances, and, on this particular evening he did not fare as well as one had hoped.

In his favor, Mr. Schultz exhibited in the Schubert the same genuine feeling and penchant for subtle, soft playing that this listener admired several years ago; unfortunately, though, the balance between registers was not quite controlled, and the melody, even in the beginning, was overwhelmed by accompaniment (lovely though it was). What seemed a style of intimacy a few years ago here seemed more a lack of projection. What had impressed as a patient, long-breathed style seemed here to need more differentiation (e.g., the left hand G octaves that punctuate the last movement, which were almost lackluster).

The Brahms Op. 24 faced similar issues, with the additional technical challenges that sometimes seemed to slow things down. One especially missed the surges in the twenty-third variation, building to the climax in the twenty-fifth that unleashes the Fugue.

Through it all, there were great moments and many glimmers of insight, but to bring the music to the audience Mr. Schultz might need to step outside the tonal world he seems to have internalized so well and project more.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY