The University of Texas Wind Ensemble

Jerry Junkin and Cliff Croomes, conductors

Caleb Hudson, trumpet

Stern Auditorium at Carnegie hall, New York, NY

June 2, 2024

A large and enthusiastic crowd was on hand at Carnegie Hall June 2, 2024, for a concert given by the University of Texas Wind Ensemble for their 50^th Anniversary Celebration. This was the third appearance at Carnegie Hall for the University of Texas Wind Ensemble. With five masterpieces, four of which were written by living composers, the concert was a tour-de-force that wowed not only their many supporters, but also this listener who will remember it for a very long time.

The University of Texas Wind Ensemble is one of the ELITE (the emphasis is mine) bands of this country (and one could say of any country). Led by the dynamic Jerry Junkin, himself a living legend in the wind ensemble world, these fifty-six musicians comprise the very best of the best. I have been a “virtual fan” by way of videos and recordings for years, but this was the first time I have had the privilege of hearing them live.

Any regular reader of New York Concert Review is well aware that I am an unabashed fan of wind ensembles. Whatever the age and level of the players, I am always happy to take in a concert. I’m sure a large part of this is nostalgic – I am still very much a “band geek” at heart, and the memories of those long ago days are, and will always be, a huge part of my musical life. Usually I find myself taking an avuncular attitude – offer some insights and words to help encourage young ensembles. To take that stance in this instance would be like offering Einstein some pointers about relativity! If anyone learned anything today, it would have been this listener.

Speaking of learning, the program notes were excellent, with extensive details and background information. The four living composers wrote the notes for their respective works. The program included a QR code to access the notes, a nice touch considering that the length of the notes would have been unwieldy in the printed program. I will summarize some notes, but interested readers can access the full notes here: Program notes .

Enough background – let’s get to it. Opening with Dmitri Shostakovich’s Festive Overture, Op 96, one of the mainstays of the repertoire, (some might even call it a “warhorse” at this point) served immediate notice that this was going to be a special afternoon. Brimming with energy, crisp articulated attacks, on-point staccatos, and no hint of “opening jitters,” it was a terrific selection to open. It is Shostakovich in his most joyful mood, with reminders of Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmilla overture sprinkled about.

After the Shostakovich, trumpet soloist Caleb Hudson took the stage for the World Premiere (in this transcription) of David Biedenbender’s River of Time Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble. The title refers to a conversation the composer had with a colleague about the concept of flow of music through time (“the river of time”). Mr. Biedenbender took inspiration from two rather different sources: Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations and Carlo Rovelli’s The Order of Time. It is a three-movement work (Becoming, Flowing, Crossing) that is not a concerto in the conventional sense. I would not call it a virtuosic showpiece, but that is not to say that any virtuosity is absent – it is there, and it is considerable, but it is almost never overt. It is a cerebral work one might call “sonic philosophy.” The focus on “flow” through sustained lines and the exploration of time call for a technically accomplished player and one with both the grasp of the conceptual goals and the sensitivity to realize them. Mr. Hudson was that player. His purity of tone alone was enough to win me over. My favorite movement was the opening Becoming, which had, as the composer so aptly described, a primordial quality that was mesmerizing. Mr. Biedenbender came to the stage at the finish to accept congratulations for his fine work. As a built-in encore, Maestro Junkin led the ensemble in a spirited reading of the Beatles classic Penny Lane, with Mr. Hudson dazzling the crowd with the famous piccolo trumpet part.

I’m going to express my only reservations of the afternoon here. It was not clear when the first movement ended and the second began. I had the benefit of perusing the score prior to the concert, and though the score is marked attacca, there should be some differentiation of mood. There were also moments when Mr. Hudson was obscured by the ensemble, through no fault of his own.

The last work of the first half was Of Our New Day Begun by Omar Thomas. Of Our New Day Begun was written to honor nine persons who lost their lives to a heinous act of hatred and domestic terrorism on the evening of June 17, 2015, while worshipping at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. Thomas wrote that his greatest challenge was finding the balance between expressing reverence for victims and their families, and his strong feelings of bitterness towards the perpetrator of this heinous act and the parts of society that created, and continue to create, people like this perpetrator. Lift Every Voice and Sing features prominently throughout. Mr. Thomas states that it is “known endearingly as the “’Negro National Anthem.’” This is a powerful, emotionally supercharged work written by a highly accomplished composer, who seamlessly pairs his dramatic sense with a keen devotion to tradition.

The anger that gave way to the singing of Lift Every Voice, with clapping and feet stomping, was especially powerful, with the message of “we may be shaken, but we are not defeated, that hope will always be alive in our hearts.” The stomping that returns at the end is the embodiment of the epitaph included in the title page, “Let us march on ‘til victory is won.”

I had heard an early performance on YouTube by a prominent group (which I will not name) that lacked a lot of the passion that Maestro Junkin and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble brought forth in abundance. Usually I can single out a section or a particular soloist for special mention, but such uniformly outstanding playing makes it nearly impossible to do so. Mr. Thomas was in attendance and joined Maestro Junkin on stage after the last notes sounded. The audience gave him a standing ovation for his powerful work. I hope to hear more of his compositions in the future.

After intermission, associate director Cliff Croomes took the podium to conduct Donald Grantham’s Don’t You See? Grantham is one of the “big names” in Wind Ensemble music (Southern Harmony is a favorite of mine). Don’t You See? was commissioned in memory of Stephen J. Paul, a much admired professor of music education, who died unexpectedly in April 2001 at the age of 48. In Don’t You See?, three highly contrasting yet complementary spirituals are employed. The first half of the piece is based on “Death Ain’t Nothin’ but a Robber,” The second half of the piece becomes more hopeful and affirmative with the appearance of “I’ve just Come from the Fountain,” and “Blow the Trumpet, Gabriel.” These two spirituals interact with increasing exuberance until the climax, which features six virtuosic trumpet parts resolving into a fragment of the opening spiritual. Solos abound in this work – alto sax, oboe, and English horn to name a few – and the three trumpeters on the side of the stage were marvelous. It was another winning performance.

Maestro Junkin returned to the stage to conduct the final work of the afternoon, John Mackey’s Wine-Dark Sea, which was commissioned by Jerry Junkin and The University of Texas Wind Ensemble, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Sarah and Ernest Butler School of Music. The title of the three-movement wind symphony Wine-Dark Sea comes from The Odyssey. Mackey’s wife Abby broke this epic down into three episodes, which I will break down even further into the briefest of summaries. I. Hubris– Odysseus is swaggering a bit too much after winning the Trojan War, so Zeus puts him in his place by sinking his ship and killing his crew. II. Immortal thread, so weak– Odysseus is nursed back to health by Kalypso. After seven years, he “remembers” he has a wife and says, “gotta go.” Kalypso’s heart is broken, but she makes him a sail after unraveling the tapestry that she had made as a record of their love. He doesn’t even look back. III. The attentions of souls– the way home is by way of the underworld and it is not pleasant, but he makes it through to the light and home is within his sights.

It is my opinion that John Mackey is already one of the greatest composers in the history of wind ensemble music. Sone of his salient qualities are as follows: Melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic imagination that seems limitless, masterful orchestration, exploitation of the full battery of percussion instruments, including producing special sound effects, and the ability to write some of most beautiful and the most sinisterly vile (even “raunchy”) music with equal ability.

The University of Texas Wind Ensemble obviously was “born” to play this thirty-minute adventure (after all, it was written for them), and they did not disappoint in what was perfection from start to finish. The brilliant sounding French Horns in Hubris, the heartbreaking poignancy of Immortal thread, so weak, and the “burn it to the ground” bombastic The attentions of souls, with the full forces pushing the envelope to near insanity (and it was loud, very loud!) with the percussionists leading the way, was one of the most thrilling things I have ever heard in a live concert. I think Maestro Junkin was having just as much fun as anyone as he unleashed this fury. The audience leapt to their feet with an immediate standing ovation. Mr. Mackey was also in attendance, and came on stage to the roars of the audience, who continued to applaud for him until he returned to the stage for a second bow.

Maestro Junkin offered two encores, Leonard Bernstein’s Overture to Candide (arranged by Clare Grundman), and to the delight of the hometown fans, Deep in the Heart of Texas (with the audience clapping along). A final ovation ended the afternoon in triumph.

This listener has been to countless concerts where aural fatigue set in, and two hours were testing the limit of my ability to remain engaged. Let me say that after two hours and two encores, I would have happily been up for another two hours. That’s how good this concert was, and while I am never going to say any one concert was the best I have ever attended, I have no qualms about stating that this was in the top three, and it has been nearly ten years since I have had such a strong reaction to a concert. Maestro Junkin hinted that a fourth appearance in New York was in the ensemble’s future. I will be there!

Heather Sorenson and Pepper Choplin, composers/conductors

Distinguished Concerts Orchestra; Distinguished Concerts Singers

Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

May 28. 2024

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) on May 28th presented a concert titled “These Ancient Words,” featuring two works- Our Father: A Journey Through the Lord’s Prayer, by Pepper Choplin, and These Ancient Words, by Heather Sorenson. Both works draw inspiration from the Bible for their texts. The Distinguished Concerts Singers for this performance were from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Colorado, Oklahoma, Illinois, Virginia, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, California, Indiana, Canada, and “individual singers from around the globe.”

DCINY favorite Pepper Choplin (in his 11^th appearance with DCINY) took the stage to conduct his cantata Our Father: A Journey Through the Lord’s Prayer. As Mr. Choplin stated in his program notes, he had spent countless hours setting the lines of the Lord’s Prayer and contemplating the power of its words. Our Father is a nine-movement “blockbuster” work.

This listener has had the opportunity to hear Mr. Choplin’s works on many occasions. His compositional style is characterized by unfailing optimism, beautiful soaring melodies, abundant climaxes, and avoidance of anything harmonically jarring beyond passing tones. His fans, and make no mistake, he has a huge fan base, seem to be the ones Mr. Choplin writes for. Any concerns that might arise from fusty critics about sounding formulaic are of no importance to him or to his fans. What he writes for his followers is like musical catnip. They simply can’t get enough and are always wanting more.

This is not this listener’s first hearing of Our Father. I reviewed the New York premiere of this work in 2015 (in the version that included narration between movements, on this occasion the non-narrated version was performed). It is always interesting to revisit a work after such a long interval, and I was curious how my reaction would compare to that of 2015. I was surprised that my opinions on what I heard tonight were so closely aligned with my thoughts about what I heard in 2015. The favorites remained unchanged – the big sound of the anthem-like Our Father in Heaven, the poignant and nostalgia-tinged Holy Be Thy Name, the driving energy of Let Your Kingdom Come where the sun breaks through the clouds of doubt, the beautiful, heartfelt Forgive Us, and the uneasy tension of sinister-like chant in Lead Us From Temptation.

Mr. Choplin is a dynamic presence at the podium. He radiates energy to the orchestra and chorus, and they reflect it back in kind. The audience felt that energy, and enthusiastically cheered at the end of each movement. Let’s take a moment to recognize two soloists from the huge chorus, Kesley Mathis, and Jack Branning. After the last notes of the final movement, Thine is the Kingdom, the audience gave Mr. Choplin, the orchestra and chorus a standing ovation. Kudos to the individual chorus directors who prepared their singers well.

After intermission, Heather Sorenson (in her 3^rd DCINY appearance as a conductor) took the podium to conduct her six-movement These Ancient Words. Each movement is musical setting of a word inspired by Scripture passages. This work was commissioned by the family of David Glenn Thompson in the face of his dementia diagnosis, to commemorate his love of family and church choral music. Mr. Thompson was present this evening as a member of the Distinguished Concerts Singers. In her excellent program notes, Ms. Sorenson gives a detailed description of the setting of the six words (Light, Humility, Refuge, Rest, Worship, and Wisdom) and the source of the Bible verses used (John 1:1, Micah 6:6-8, Psalm 46, Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 96, and Proverbs 4:1-13).

As I wrote about Ms. Sorenson in an earlier review, [she] has her own unique brand of tonal beauty. She has a gift for melody and making those melodies harmonically interesting. In addition to this, one has the definite impression that the music flows from her with a natural ease, as if it were inevitable.

As much as I would like to go into great detail about each movement, I am going to limit myself to my highlights. Humility had a poignant beauty that was striking. Refuge had a roiling energy that suddenly pulled back for a moment of reflection, only to suddenly burst back forth, finally seeking healing in a serene epilogue. Worship had a martial quality, punctuated with the rhythms of the snare drum, exhorting one to “shout from the rooftops” devotion to the Lord. Finally, the final movement Wisdom was the words of a loving father to his children, and the Scripture for this movement was specially chosen by the Thompson family. It was extremely moving – there were audience members fighting back tears.

Ms. Sorenson led the huge forces (there were more than 200 singers crowding the stage) with considerable skill and with greater confidence than in prior appearances. The orchestra and chorus were outstanding from start to finish, and for such large numbers, the chorus was razor-sharp with good diction and ensemble balance. Special mention goes to soloists Danielle Wojcik and Layke Jones, with a bonus “thumbs up” for Mr. Jones, who once again “brought the house down” as he did in last appearance with DCINY (as a soloist for Ms. Sorenson’s Requiem). After the last notes, the audience immediately leapt to their feet with an extended ovation, which was richly deserved. Congratulations to all!

Jonathan Griffith, DCINY Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for Mozart: Requiem

Distinguished Concerts Singers International; Distinguished Concerts Orchestra

Mark Hayes, Composer/Conductor for Kindness (World Premiere) and The Field

Penelope Shumate, Soprano; Teresa Bucholz, Mezzo-Soprano;

Chad Kranak, Tenor; Christopher Job, Bass-Baritone

David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY

May 26, 2024

In a Memorial Day weekend program billed as Mozart’s Requiem, Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presented not only that masterpiece, left unfinished by Mozart in his last days, but also new music by American composer, Mark Hayes. It was a thought-provoking concert, with its music spanning over 200 years, bridging the centuries through themes of suffering and love, human and divine.

With the composer Mark Hayes at the podium, DCINY’s chorus and orchestra opened the program with his short work entitled The Field and continued with his lengthier work, Kindness, a Chorale and Fugue in the Baroque Tradition (a World Premiere, courtesy of the DCINY Premiere Project).

The Field was a captivating start, drawing the listener into a soulful text by the 13th-century Sufi mystic, Rumi. Expressing the world’s oneness through the metaphor of a field, the work expresses the need for humanity to transcend language and other barriers and come together. The music and emotion build very early in the piece (some might say surprisingly so) to large, lush sonorities that convey the expanse of a universal “field” – before dropping to quieter levels in the intimate line, “I’ll meet you there” – a moving moment and a welcome reminder that it all starts with individuals. The expanse of the “field” was like a full orchestral embrace. The imitative setting of the words “ideas” and “language” conveyed just the right sense of “clutter” to support the poem’s sentiment of moving beyond them, into a world that is “too full to talk about.” Using familiar hymn-like harmonies colored with the Lydian mode and some motifs reminiscent of spirituals, The Field projected a timeless grace. DCINY’s combined choruses and orchestra performed it with clear dedication.

The next work by Mark Hayes was Kindness, a Chorale and Fugue in the Baroque Tradition. It is an ambitious and lengthy work (around thirty minutes) that sets out, through a rhetorical approach of alternating questions and answers, to solve the central universal problem of “How shall we live?” The responses to the question are many (“We embrace. We welcome all.”), but the answer is essentially and repeatedly “kindness.” It is not hard to see the need for such a project in today’s world, though pulling off such a text has obvious challenges. 

Though Kindness may employ a Baroque rhetorical approach, even inviting a reference in the program notes to Bach’s B minor Mass and Handel’s Messiah, those predecessors had very different texts with certain dramatic trajectories built into them, including highly specific events (the crucifixion, as an example). Though a work avoiding plot lines to focus on a broad concept of “kindness” may be more universal, such a work also risks feeling more generic unless the text is highly specific and the music exceptionally vivid. A text without some dramatic catalysts or opportunities for dissonance or contrasting darkness can lose differentiation and direction – and the listener’s attention. Just reading the text in advance of the concert and knowing this composer’s penchant for steady and sweet consonance, this listener had some concerns. One was that, with the composer setting his own text, that quality might only intensify. Some of these concerns turned out to be justified, and extensive repetition in the text became part of the issue. Such sweeping terms as “comfort” and “compassion” – and yes, “kindness” – can drain of color with each reiteration, rendering the experience rather amorphous.

Some of these concerns, though, were diminished by some effective decisions, including adding tonal relief through several harpsichord interludes. These interludes broke up the choral segments with contrasting keyboard material that included hints of Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (as mentioned in the program notes) and textures reminiscent to this listener of Bach’s C minor Prelude from Book I of the Well-Tempered Clavier.

Alternation of solo voices also helped alleviate a tendency toward the monochromatic – and this was especially welcome with the exchanges between soprano Penelope Shumate and tenor Chad Kranak. One has been impressed for many years by Ms. Shumate’s performances, but Chad Kranak had particularly dazzled in last year’s Messiah with DCINY, so it was great to hear him again in fine form. The subsequent blending of Shumate and Kranak in duet illustrated the text eloquently in the words, “our kindness is magnified” (further reprised by the full chorus). The cumulative energy (signifying the growing resolve to be kind) was achieved well in the latter part of the piece. The final chorus, if extracted, seemed like it could become an anthem of sorts, and the final line “Kindness will change the world” brought the work to an optimistic conclusion. Many in the audience clearly enjoyed the experience, applauding heartily.

For the second half, Jonathan Griffith conducted Mozart’s Requiem in the Robert D. Levin completion. It is not every week that one hears this Requiem twice, once in the famous Süssmayr completion and next in the Levin one, but it just so happened that this reviewer attended the N.Y. Philharmonic’s Süssmayr performance under Jaap van Zweden (also at David Geffen Hall) just four days before the DCINY one. Faced with a feast of possible preferences, this listener will just say that both performances were extremely compelling. There is a message here on the importance of the performers themselves – and certainly on how even a few kernels of Mozart bore magnificent fruit.

The Süssmayr completion has frequently been faulted for not being “Mozartean” enough, for various voice-leading and other weaknesses, and for being too thickly orchestrated, with frequent instrumental doubling of vocal parts. There have been other completions since, but it is Robert Levin’s version, commissioned for a 1991 bicentennial of the composer’s death and recorded a few years later, that has been the most highly regarded alternative since then, with good reason. Mr. Levin chose to work with the Süssmayr version, rather than replacing it completely (a wise decision, given the version’s two centuries of becoming ensconced in our minds), but he created, in his own words “a more transparent instrumentation” derived from Mozart’s other church music (placing the choir more “in the foreground”), in addition to a non-modulating Amen fugue, a newly composed Hosanna fugue – and a host of other subtle and ingenious changes. His work is a marvel of scholarship and musicianship.

The DCINY performance of Levin’s version Sunday did indeed have a transparency in which the chorus was supreme, though undoubtedly some of this was owed to the chorus’s enormous size. (One imagines they might have retained sovereignty through the Süssmayr version as well.) The participating choruses included the Greater Lake Area Chorale, Reclaim Arts Academy Chorale, New Dominion Choraliers Of Prince William County, Belin Memorial United Methodist Church Chancel Choir, Yelm Community Choir, Celebration Community Church Choir, First United Methodist Church Of Arroyo Grande Chancel Choir, Jonathan Griffith Singers, Johnson County Choral Ensemble, Weymouth Choral Society, Pilgrim Choir, First Congregational Church, Joyful Band Of Singers, Bach Society Of Dayton, North Decatur Presbyterian Church Community Choir, The Manassas Chorale, SoJo Choral Arts, St. Louis County Community Chorus, Dickinson County Community Chorus, Ipswich River Community Chorus, Stuyvesant High School Oratorio Choir, and the Richmond Choral Society & Arcadian Chorale.  These DCINY choruses constituted, as ever, a virtual army of singers.  By contrast, the chorus with the New York Philharmonic was considerably smaller – though any lack of transparency issues in the Süssmayr score there had been minimized by the superb listening and control of the conductor and ensembles.

DCINY also benefited, as ever, from terrific orchestral players. The Tuba mirum enjoyed outstanding brass playing, and the full forces of chorus and orchestra combined to a thunderous effect, particularly stirring in the Rex tremendae. The dynamic contrasts were striking in the Hostias movement, and the solos were admirable from soprano Penelope Shumate, mezzo-soprano Teresa Bucholz, tenor Chad Kranak, and bass-baritone Christopher Job.

It was mystifying that neither the Benedictus nor the Sanctus (nor Hosanna) was included in the otherwise full printed text of all the other movements – they were definitely heard (though this big double-Requiem week caused one momentarily to doubt oneself) – and they were excellent. Where the text of the Benedictus should have been, your reviewer scribbled “Christopher Job is superb” and “vocal quartet high point.” Whereas the NY Philharmonic had chosen to segue from the Lux Aeterna into Mozart’s profound Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618, this DCINY concert ended on a triumphant note with the Cum sanctis tuis. The audience stood for a loud ovation. Bravi tutti!

“Waldeinsamkeit” (Forest Solitude)

Xiaofu Ju, piano

Judy and Arthur Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

May 19, 2024

Writers and composers have celebrated nature and its salubrious effects for many centuries, but the concept of the forest might seem out of keeping with the routine of a metropolitan-dwelling musician, who often spends six hours a day imbibing the solitude of four walls and a piano. To be clear, this recital was neither confined nor ordinary. Xiaofu Ju, a cosmopolitan prizewinner with a burgeoning career in China and across the globe, does not play like a hungry competitor; it took only a matter of seconds onstage for him to tap into the wellspring of his own poetry (of which he has published two volumes) and to find himself at one with space and time in the expansive Zankel Hall.

The theme of the evening (literally, Forest Aloneness) drew references to the German Romantic poets, the art songs of Brahms (In Waldeseinsamkeit, 1878), Richard Wagner (“Waldweben” from Siegfried, 1876), and the Transcendentalist Americans Henry David Thoreau (Walden, 1854) and Ralph Waldo Emerson (Waldeinsamkeit, 1858). Romantic or Post-romantic imagery, and miniatures in particular, provide the strongest lure to Mr. Ju and his artistry. He shines in the magic of the understated, pulling us into his psychological stillness. This would explain his affinity for Leoš Janáček and his choice of V mlhách (In the Mists) as a program opener.

The four Czech pieces from 1912 anticipate the aphoristic style and terse phrasing of Janáček’s operas, with more economy of means and a delicate translucence. Mr. Ju’s passion was controlled as he hovered over gently chiming octaves and repeated notes, abstaining from glamor or generic profundity. Although Janáček composed the set during a bleak period in his life, Mr. Ju’s performance of this and almost every other work on his program explored the more desirable spectrum of brightness and optimism.

His guarded energies continued to bloom ever so slowly in Schumann’s nine Waldszenen, Op. 82, as he focused on floating sound rather than on any emphatic pulsation. We heard few echoes of traditional Germanic motifs but, in their stead, a ghostly, chirping, nearly archless virtuosity marked by spontaneous and unbroken counterpoint. Schumann’s unstable frame of mind in 1848 was refashioned here in the hands and sensibility of a captive narrator, uncluttered by neurosis and basking in pristine reminiscence. Herberge (Wayside Inn, often translated as Shelter) plunged ahead with crisply dotted articulations, and Vogel als Prophet (Bird as Prophet) unfolded with wondrous pedals and streams of color. This poetic recitation suddenly brought to mind the Schumann of a promising young Yuri Egourov from ages past, but with a finer brush stroke.

The woodsy premise of the recital became merely a departure point for free association in the second half, as Mr. Ju transported us to Java with the 1907 Book Two of Claude Debussy’s Images. Cloches à travers les feuilles (Bells through the Leaves) might have been a religious vision, such was Mr. Ju’s hypnotic recreation of gamelan timbres which, if placed side by side with French percussion instruments, could have demoted the latter, in Debussy’s words, to “primitive noises at a country fair.” Et la lune descend sur le temple qui fut (And the Moon Descends on the Temple That Was) simmered in quiet ecstasy, bringing a palpable hush to Zankel Hall, and the line was finally let out for good in Poissons d’or (Fish of Gold), when Mr. Ju attained the summit of a near-disorienting, effervescent frenzy.

By the time we reached Liszt’s monumental Sonata in B minor, the forest was long gone and we were in the presence of a young man. Mr. Ju’s astonishing command of speed and superhuman discipline could make child’s play of double octaves or fugues, and his gossamer runs of spun silk could show him as master of every degree of pianissimo, but this was a lean Liszt B minor, slightly more attuned to a glorious Sposalizio or large character piece than to a symphonic warhorse. One shudders to contemplate what a few years will do to the apotheosis of Mr. Ju’s recap second theme, as he melds the absolute to the programmatic to the Hungarian, when his career has taken certain flight.

Following a program of such import, the pianist chose for encores Bach’s Chorale Prelude Ich ruf zu dir (arranged by Busoni) and, in what amounted to the highlight of the night, Scriabin’s Sonata No. 4 with its blistering chiaroscuro. The concert was billed by the Paulus Hook Music Foundation as a gesture of Sino-American goodwill. One could not imagine a more benevolent cultural gift.

New England Symphonic Ensemble; Preston Hawes, Artistic Director and Concertmaster

Peter Tiboris, Jason Sabino, and Jason Strunk, Conductors

Katherine Henly, Soprano; Anna Kelly, Mezzo-Soprano; Hayden Smith, Tenor; Jason Zacher, Bass-Baritone

Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

May 11, 2024

With characteristically grand style, MidAmerica Productions presented a Saturday night concert at Carnegie Hall that included monuments of music by Haydn and Schubert, with a Mozart Overture added for good measure. In a program divided into a chorus-with-orchestra first half and an all-orchestral second half, the program’s first half was devoted to Haydn’s Mass in D Minor, Hob. XXII: 11 (Nelson Mass or Lord Nelson Mass), with choruses from around the country joining forces with the New England Symphonic Ensemble. For the second half, after a breeze through Mozart’s Overture to Le Nozze di Figaro, the orchestra would take on Schubert’s massive Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944 (“The Great”). It was destined to be a memorable evening.

With the world experiencing struggles of all kinds, the programming of Haydn’s eleventh mass, originally entitled Missa in angustiis (Mass for Troubled Times) was a fitting one. Composed in 1798, after multiple defeats of Austria by Napoleon, Haydn created a work of palpable tension, supplication, faith, and jubilation. What Haydn may or may not have known at the time of completing it was that Admiral Horatio Nelson had recently defeated Napoleon in the Battle of the Nile, but, in any case, the news came close to the day of the first performance, and by the time Nelson visited Haydn at the Esterhazy Court in 1800 the moniker Lord Nelson Mass had been well established.

From the austere orchestral introduction to the opening Kyrie, an intense solemnity was set, and from the first ensuing choral tutti, the formidable presence of the combined choruses was established. The first half of the mass was conducted by Jason Sabino and the second half by Jason Strunk – each being the conductor of two contributing choruses. Those choruses were the Century High School Concert Choir and Oregon Chorale from Hillsboro, OR (Jason Sabino, Director), and the Georgetown Day School Choirs and Georgetown Day School Choirs Alumni Ensemble, Washington, DC (Jason Strunk, Director), along with the Southern California Master Chorale, Anaheim, CA (Sheridan Ball, Director) and the Tripoli Senior High School Choir, Tripoli, IA (Chris McIntyre, Director).

It must have been a challenge to penetrate the sound of such a large chorus with orchestra, but four gifted soloists were on hand to do just that, starting with soprano Katherine Henly and following with by mezzo-soprano Anna Kelly, tenor Hayden Smith, and bass-baritone Jason Zacher. These singers clearly constituted great “ingredients” – and the main challenge would be finding the right balance among them, which was most of the time achieved.

Katherine Henly’s tone was pure and true right from the Kyrie but seemed to gain still more comfort and focus as the work developed. Throughout the mass, she seemed to thrive in the slower, sustained lines more than in the rapid melismatic sections, which were occasionally obscured by the sheer numbers. Hayden Smith’s bright tenor emerged as particularly bright and penetrating right from the Gloria, though there were moments when it could be said to have been even a bit too powerful, overwhelming other voices sometimes – in the Quoniam tu solus for example.

In Qui tollis peccata mundi, we especially enjoyed the excellent bass-baritone, Jason Zacher, whose powerful deep register was a joy throughout the mass. Mezzo Anna Kelly was ever vital to the musical texture, but especially notable as a soloist in the Agnus Dei. The choruses were clearly well-trained, and moments of subtle and glacial changes in tone (such as in the Sanctus) were especially impressive. The quartet of soloists was in full bloom as an ensemble by the Benedictus, and the Dona Nobis Pacem concluded the mass with a brilliant sound and hopeful spirit. Bravi tutti!

Peter Tiboris, conductor as well as Founder, General Director, and Music Director of MidAmerica Productions took the stage after intermission. Starting with a precise and spirited rendition of the Overture to Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Maestro Tiboris’ style was energized and yet economical in gesture. It was the assured approach of one who knows the responses of his orchestra and has a wealth of experience behind each decision.

Speaking of decisions, there are many highly debated ones on Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C major (“The Great”) which came next – starting with the issue of repeats. Already a piece with an immensity that hobbled early partial readings in Schubert’s lifetime (leaving its rediscovery for years later and complete premiere until 1839, over a decade after Schubert’s death), its vastness also inspired Robert Schumann’s famous phrase “heavenly length” as he worked to advocate for it. The symphony has been performed with a wide range of durations to match the many interpretations, some with all repeats bringing the work to over an hour, others with none but the minimal obligatory return in the Scherzo (closer to forty-five minutes), and lastly some combination of these. This weekend’s rendition was the latter, with all repeats observed in the glorious first and last movements – and given the material and well-conceived performances of the outer movements, that decision felt satisfying.

As many know, the work makes reference to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – directly in the last movement with a quotation from the famous Ode to Joy, but also with arguable connections in the first movement and elsewhere. Schubert had attended the premiere of Beethoven’s Ninth in May of 1824 (the 200th anniversary of which was celebrated last week), and he began sketches of this magnificent work in 1825. The sheer scope owes much to Beethoven, and Maestro Tiboris embraced its expansiveness, as such a noble creation deserves. Moments were chosen to sustain momentum with some tempo flexibility, but never in a way that violated the work’s integrity.

It was undoubtedly because of such surrender to the journey that the large audience remained spellbound for its entirety, from the brilliant horn opening through to the triumphant close. The orchestra members are to be commended for their tremendous stamina through the unrelenting string demands and substantial brass and wind parts. Highlights included, naturally, the oboe part in the Andante second movement (leaving this reviewer sad for the inability to identify or credit any orchestra members, as they were not listed in the program), but then kudos go to every player in collaboration. The finale was especially thrilling, as Maestro Tiboris led a charge of tireless triplet rhythms in an inexorable drive to victory.

The large audience gave a standing ovation, as was richly deserved.

Ian Hobson, piano; Andrés Cárdenes, violin; Jun Iwasaki, violin; Csaba Erdélyi, viola; Ko Iwasaki, cello

Tenri Cultural institute, New York, NY

May 10, 2024

The energy was buzzing tonight at the Tenri Cultural Institute – pianist Ian Hobson is back this evening and has once again curated a program of works by composer Robert Schumann, this time featuring exciting chamber works. The house was packed, and the supportive audience was in for a thrilling performance.

The program started with a piano trio titled Phantasiestüke, Op. 88, which featured violinist Jun Iwasaki and cellist Ko Iwasaki. This work, the latest of the three works performed tonight, dates back to 1842, during his chamber music period, but underwent revisions over the years before being published in 1850. Interestingly, the title “Fantasy pieces” is also used for a solo piano work predating this trio.

These brief movements were delightful. The opening movement, Romance, captivated the listeners with its seductive melody and nostalgic undertones. Mr. Hobson skillfully projected Schumann’s introspective melodies, met with responsive interplay from the strings as they intertwined with the piano, which assumed a protagonist role.

In the second movement, Humoreske, the trio starts with rhythmic unison, gradually unfolding into a canonic section. The trio’s sound was robust, maintaining a healthy pulse throughout. Especially noteworthy was the expansive B-section, offering significant contrast, which the trio conveyed generously. The subsequent section surged with ecstatic energy, and the return to the A-section felt invigoratingly fresh.

The third movement, Duett for violin and cello, was poignant. The featured soloists, Jun Iwasaki and Ko Iwasaki played with intimate tenderness and seamless communication. Transitioning to the contrasting fourth movement, Finale, began with a march. However, some of the contrasting sections felt somewhat long-winded, a quality in Schumann that can be a challenge to overcome.

The next piece on the program was the Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47. This four-movement work featured guest artists Andrés Cárdenes (violin), Csaba Erdélyi (viola), and Ko Iwasaki (cello). The piece begins with a slow introduction (Sostenuto assai), which then transitions to a faster section (Allegro ma non troppo). The performers captured the melancholy of the opening and the improvisatory nature of the faster Allegro, and showcased thoughtful exchange among the instruments. The second movement, Scherzo: Molto vivace – Trio I – Trio II, was dynamic, finely balanced, and imbued with a light character. Moving to the third movement, Andante cantabile, it featured one of Schumann’s most tuneful and emotionally resonant themes. Each member of the ensemble demonstrated a profound affection for this melody, infusing it with deep sentiment every time it recurred. Particularly noteworthy was the viola solo performed by Mr. Erdélyi and the delicate conclusion added to the overall charm of the performance. The concluding movement, Finale: vivace, was overflowing with energy, with its fugal entries even evoking memories of Mr. Hobson’s previous performance, Counterpoints. The ensemble exhibited excellent communication and demonstrated a keen understanding of Schumann’s adept transitions from Baroque elements to Romanticism within the piece—a skill finely executed.

The only work on the second half of tonight’s program was the Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44 – arguably Schumann’s most beloved and well-known chamber work. The exciting first movement, Allegro brilliante, was compelling and performed with gusto. However, during the development section, there was a sense of tentativeness, and an overall heaviness in the pulse made it feel as if it was somewhat dragging.

This work, with its cyclical elements, continues by having the piano lead in to the second movement, In modo d’un marcia, un poco largamente. This somber and austere funeral march was characterized by its placed silences and well-articulated short phrases shared by each member of the ensemble. The contrasting B-section was angelic and revealed a transparent beauty while the tragic C-section was highlighted by dramatic outbursts. The bleak march returns, but this time more fragmented and wearier before ending with a haunting pianissimo chord.

The virtuosic third movement, Scherzo: Molto vivace – Trio I – Trio II, is driven by ascending scales, which the musicians executed with precision and buoyancy, maintaining a consistent pulse without allowing it to falter or accelerate excessively. After a transition to Trio I, defined by a frenetic dance pulse, the ensemble seamlessly returned to the impetuous scale motif, showcasing their command of the composition’s constant rhythmic shifts.

The last movement, Allegro man non troppo, feels almost regal and within it encapsulates the entire work. Its main theme, skeletal yet rhythmically dynamic, harkens back to the world of the first movement. Moreover, the contrasting episodes, built upon the same thematic material, establish a sense of unity in diverse forms. As the main theme from the first movement returns in its fugal state, the ensemble effectively paced this concluding section, heightening the excitement and fervent quality to the forefront – so much so that when the final chords sounded, the audience rose to their feet in applause.

It was a pleasure to hear this fine program at the hands of passionate and giving musicians who are clearly expert chamber music collaborators!

by Walter Aparicio for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Rupert Egerton-Smith, piano

The Kosciuszko Foundation, New York, NY

April 30, 2024

This evening’s concert is part of an exciting season for pianist Rupert Egerton-Smith where, on his first East Coast tour, he has performed at The Church in Sag Harbor, The Lambs, and tonight at the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York City presented by the Alexander & Buono Foundation.

The program, which looked appealing to all kinds of audiences, was in six sections, each meant to represent an important part of the evolution of keyboard writing – from the harpsichord to the jazz idiom. One would probably need several concerts to truly dive deep on this kind of evolutionary journey, but Mr. Egerton-Smith managed to give us a nice sampling from most of the representative styles of keyboard writing.

Mr. Egerton-Smith began with two sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757). These two well-known sonatas are gems among the 555 keyboard sonatas the composer wrote. The Sonata in B minor, K. 27, was played boldly and displayed expert handling of the layered textures and the many hand-crossings. Within this, however, one did seem to want a more tender and supple approach that communicated the longer line. The B-section was much more colorful and handled with care. The second sonata, K. 96 in D major, is nicknamed “La Chasse” because of its allusion to the sounds of hunting horns. Mr. Egerton-Smith communicated this character with clarity and with a sense of joy and a buoyant pulse. The repeated notes and the hands-crossing sections were equally impressive. The B-section explored sonorities and probed at the meaning of these ever-changing harmonies while still exploiting the technical bravura of the work.

Next on the program was a set by Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) – two etudes and one ballade. Mr. Egerton-Smith’s rendering of the two etudes, Op. 10, No. 5 in G-flat major, “Black Key,” and Op. 25, No. 11 in A minor, “Winter Wind,” were both performed with definition and tremendous clarity. It is obvious that Mr. Egerton-Smith has overcome the technical challenges of these demanding etudes, but I was more interested in the poetic side of these works. The “Black Key” was charming and joyful but lacked the pacing it needed to keep the piece afloat. The “Winter Wind” had great sweep and pulse, however, I felt that the performer was holding back, which left me wanting more freedom and abandon from this performance. The larger work was the Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47. The opening of this work is elusive, and Mr. Egerton-Smith was able to capture its mystery and lure the audience into Chopin’s world immediately. By the time we get to the second theme, we hear Mr. Egerton-Smith’s meticulous pedaling – a dryer version which communicated something different and more upbeat than we’re used to hearing. What was lacking again was a more natural sense of pacing and climax. The C-sharp minor section was very impressive but didn’t lead to the heroic transformation of the theme, however, the coda was very well played. It was exciting and ended the piece with great satisfaction.

We stayed in the Romantic Era with the Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118, No. 2, by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), one of his late character pieces. This work is a favorite of pianists because of its tender melodies, rich harmonies, and beautiful sentiment. Mr. Egerton-Smith was able to capture all those characteristic qualities that make it uniquely Brahms in this performance.

The last work on the first half of the recital is the movement Ondine from Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55, by Maurice Ravel (1875-1937). Here Mr. Egerton-Smith created a hypnotic atmosphere from the very beginning and the melody that represents the sea nymph Ondine was played hauntingly. The buildup to the climax was exciting and displayed technical mastery. Mr. Egerton-Smith was able to beautifully sculpt the shape of this work and reveal to the audience the magical sonorities and color of the Impressionist style.

Though the first half of this program had wonderful repertoire and some exquisite playing, I was having trouble finding a real throughline from piece to piece. These works are representative of much of the important keyboard writing but I wondered how they connected to the performer and who he was as an artist? And, if the intention was to trace the history of keyboard works, why was the Classical Era omitted? I was left wondering what was in store for the second half. Luckily, it did not disappoint!

Mr. Egerton-Smith began with the Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 36, by Sergey Rachmaninoff (1873-1943). He chose to play the original version from 1913 which he said to find more effective than the reworked version from 1931. This powerful sonata is in three movements and exemplifies the characteristic writing of the late-Romantic era and of Rachmaninoff himself. The first movement, Allegro agitato, begins bombastically and Mr. Egerton-Smith captured the passion and intensity of the first theme magnificently. The nostalgic chorale of the second theme was sensitively played with great nuance, and the esoteric ending was thoughtfully handled. The second movement, Non allegro – Lento was gorgeously played. Mr. Egerton-Smith was even able to skillfully orchestrate and differentiate the many layers written for distinct registers of the piano. The third movement, L’istesso tempo – Allegro molto, however, was the highlight of this work for me tonight. Mr. Egerton-Smith not only was in complete technical command but conveyed the emotional excess of the work as if it were pouring out of him uncontrollably –a tremendous feat!

The final set on the program was a selection of three pieces from Seven Virtuoso Études based on Gershwin Songs. These transcriptions were written by pianist Earl Wild (1915-2010) from the famous tunes of legendary American composer George Gershwin (1898-1937). Étude No. 4 (Embraceable You) had an improvisatory quality, and Mr. Egerton-Smith captured the natural flow and sweep – the main melodic material was well-defined among Wild’s pianistic filigree. A more upbeat number followed in Étude No. 6 (I Got Rhythm). Mr. Egerton-Smith performed this work with complete freedom and enjoyment. This was also true for Étude No. 7 (Fascinatin’ Rhythm), which had élan and a tongue-in-cheek charm, especially in the waltz-like section. After bows, Mr. Egerton-Smith treated us to an improvised encore of Summertime from Porgy & Bess.

Mr. Egerton-Smith is a pianist and musician of the highest caliber. The second half of the program, in particular, showcased his deep connection to the repertoire, resulting in a generous and memorable experience for the listeners. I eagerly anticipate future performances by Mr. Egerton-Smith, hoping for the same electrifying energy that illuminated tonight’s second half, perhaps through more daring and innovative programming choices.

by Walter Aparicio for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Ian Hobson, piano

Tenri Cultural institute, New York, NY

May 3, 2024

This evening’s performance showcased pianist Ian Hobson performing a program featuring music exclusively by Robert Schumann (1810-1856). The program, titled Counterpoints, presented works that were composed between 1836 and 1853.

The first piece was Scherzo, Gigue, Romanza, und Fughette, Op. 32. Each movement was portrayed with a clear and distinct character by Mr. Hobson, and he maintained unity by emphasizing the continuous dotted rhythms throughout the work. Particularly notable was the third movement, Romanze, which embodied Schumann’s signature blend of heroism and passion. Mr. Hobson navigated its contrasting B-section with tender precision, seamlessly returning to the main thematic material. The final movement, Fughette, was surprisingly emotive and beautifully handled by Mr. Hobson.

Next was a set of four fugues, Vier Fugen, Op. 72, from 1845. It’s always interesting when a composer other than J.S. Bach sets out to write a fugue – one wonders about their fidelity to the form and the extent to which they retain their own style. At this time, Schumann was deeply engrossed in the study of Bach’s fugues, and it appears he remained faithful to the form. Mr. Hobson skillfully delineated each voice while also capturing the introspective and wandering quality inherent in these fugues, particularly in the first one. The second fugue had great energy and the ending was particularly exciting when the organ-like dominant pedal points emerged. The third fugue proved to be the most Schumannesque – it highlighted the characteristic ambiguity that is present in much of his music. Mr. Hobson worked beautifully with the harmonic tension of the highly chromatic lines to communicate the expression (ausdrucksvoll) the piece demanded. The fourth piece was charming and played with great care.

The second half of the program began with another lesser-known work, Sieben Stücke in Fughettenform (Seven Pieces in Fugue Form), Op. 126, from 1853. These compositions served as counterpoint exercises for Schumann himself, and perhaps he didn’t originally intend for them to be performed on the concert stage. However, they possess a striking beauty, and I’m grateful that Mr. Hobson chose to share these works with us tonight. Despite their brevity, each piece managed to convey a rich emotional world, and Mr. Hobson’s performance skillfully brought out their essence, with a lush sound and meticulous attention to each entrance. Number IV. Lebhaft was particularly interesting as it had a wonderful rhythmic drive. Number VI. Sehr Schnell almost seemed modern and Number VII. Langsam, ausdrucksvoll communicated an obscure austerity.

The final piece on the program was Kriesleriana, Op. 16 – a staple in the piano repertoire. To hear his work among the more underperformed repertoire was fascinating – one can make the connections to counterpoint and where Schumann’s interests were at the time. Tonight Mr. Hobson performed the original version which Clara Schumann herself edited and performed because “it is wilder.” And wild it was!

Each of the eight movements alternates between moments of furious drama and dream-like reverie—some reminiscent of Florestan, others of Eusebius. Mr. Hobson expertly created contrast while still sustaining the intrigue in the fantasy aspect of the piece. The first movement, Äußerst bewegt (Extremely animated), began boldly, plunging us into the heart of the drama. Mr. Hobson played with a spontaneity fitting for a movement of such intensity. The connections to counterpoint were unmistakably apparent in the contrasting middle section. The pensive second movement, Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch (Very inwardly and not too quickly) had a good flow which can be a challenge due to the length of this movement with its repeats. The return to the A-section was particularly special. The following movement, Sehr aufgeregt (Very agitated), had a heroic character from the outset which ended with an exciting flourish handled with bravura. The fourth movement, Sehr langsam (Very slowly), presents another challenge in terms of pacing. This movement could have been helped with perhaps a more fantasy-like approach. However, the B-section was beautifully sculpted and the return to the A-section was a revelation.

Another highly contrapuntal movement is the fifth, Sehr lebhaft (Very lively), characterized by its moody shifts and long-note entrances. While Mr. Hobson captured the essence of the work, a more grounded pulse and suppler sense of the syncopated counterpoint would have enhanced the performance.

Movement six, Sehr langsam (Very slowly) was among my favorites of the evening. Mr. Hobson communicated with a generosity and honesty that was deeply moving. The final movement of this phenomenal work is entitled Schnell und spielend (Fast and playful). This final piece of this remarkable work was delivered with abandon, providing a satisfying conclusion to the evening.

Typically, programs featuring only one composer are not ones I tend to seek out. However, this evening had a specific idea that was very thoughtfully curated – counterpoints. As the program went on, the audience was invited to create relationships between the works, Schumann’s life at the time and his connection to counterpoint and his study of fugues- and not only that, but Mr. Hobson also treated us to a program full of passion, vigor, and commitment.

He will be performing another all-Schumann recital on Friday, May 10 also at the Tenri Cultural Institute. Do not miss this remarkable musician!

by Walter Aparicio for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Long Island Concert Orchestra

Enrico Fagone, conductor; Frank Huang, violin; Tim Cobb, double bass

DiMenna Music Center, New York, NY

April 30, 2024

The Long Island Concert Orchestra (LICO) has filled a unique role in the New York City and Long Island areas for eight years, including some of the roughest (pandemic) years for the performing arts. It is thus a pleasure to report, based on a concert at the DiMenna Center this week, that they appear to be thriving. Established in 2016 by composer David Winkler, who continues as Executive Director and Composer-in-Residence, the orchestra fills a niche among local orchestras, including finding seldom-played but exciting repertoire – in this case, the Giovanni Bottesini Gran [or Grand] Duo Concertante for violin and double bass – and presenting mainstream favorites, such as Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 (“Italian”), which we enjoyed as well. The orchestra also naturally performs Mr. Winkler’s own compositions, and fortunately for everyone, he is an outstanding composer. In this concert, we heard his Adriatica – Overture (2024), commissioned by this evening’s excellent conductor (and Artistic Director of LICO), Enrico Fagone. Incidentally, though there was no overtly stated Italian title to this program, there could have been, as each work bore a strong connection to Italy, starting with Mr. Winkler’s Adriatica, inspired of course by the Adriatic Sea.

Mr. Winkler spoke a few words to introduce the program, including mentioning that the Adriatica is part of a set of works he composed based on bodies of water – including also Atlantica and Pacifica. A listener not knowing the title would have probably guessed that Adriatica was connected to water based solely on the music. Shortly after the declamatory opening chords, shifting between major and minor, the lower strings roiled with restless repeated motives beneath high sustained lines, building from undercurrents to outright waves and at one point settling into a calmly undulating expanse. Mr. Winkler seems to compose with very clear conceptions. This work evokes the immensity of the sea. Maestro Fagone conducted it persuasively, and the players immersed themselves in it with intensity. Assuming that the companion works possess similar virtues, this listener eagerly awaits hearing Atlantica and Pacifica.

Mr. Winkler’s announcement of the Bottesini Gran Duo Concertante for violin and double bass included a speculation that probably no one in the audience had heard it before; not to be a stickler (though that comes with reviewing territory), but it may be best not to make such statements in New York City! (Possibly the words “live” or “unarranged” went unheard, in which case the supposition was fairer.) In any case, the piece is certainly not commonplace – and that is understandable, as it is devilishly hard to pull off and requires a compatible – and stellar – duo of violin and double bass. Fortunately, LICO was able to engage two superb New York Philharmonic musicians – Concertmaster Frank Huang and Principal Bassist Tim Cobb.

The story of Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889), known as “the Paganini of the Double Bass,” is an amazing one, and one which relates closely to the creation of this unusual Gran Duo. Primarily a violinist himself until he learned that the local conservatory had scholarships left only for bassoon or bass, Bottesini managed to learn the double bass in just weeks. It is no wonder then that he approached the hulking instrument with an ideal of litheness hitherto unexplored, and that he would try to satisfy his era’s hunger for showpieces by pairing his native instrument and his adopted one in this tour de force.

The Gran Duo runs the gamut from stratospheric harmonics in both instruments to speed-of-light thirds, sixths, octaves, scales, arpeggios, bouncing bows, and a large array of pyrotechnics. All must be traded back and forth and dovetailed delicately with singing melodies – while sounding “effortless” and spontaneous. Both Frank Huang and Tim Cobb were dazzling throughout. They were also quite sensitive in synchronizing with each other – and the orchestra – as if there were no challenges at all. Perhaps such ease has come to be expected in solo violin music – and to be sure, the range of double bass virtuosity has also expanded hugely since Bottesini and others – but what was remarkable here was seeing feats that would normally be focal points, tamed by the players into collaborative parts. Both players were amazing in this regard, but to witness a bassist’s left hand flying up and down the fingerboard at lightning speed, while remaining subsidiary to violin lines, was jaw-dropping – even comical! With a lesser musician, the challenge could have resembled dressing a T. Rex in a tutu, but In Tim Cobb’s hands, this wizardry was simply part of the music.

On the subject of wizardry in supporting roles, one couldn’t help noticing that Mr. Cobb joined the bass section for the Mendelssohn Symphony No. 4 after intermission, contributing generously to the lower string lines (especially the countermelodies in the second movement).  It is absolutely not expected for a soloist to do such a thing, but it is always wonderful to see. It’s a safe bet that Mr. Huang would have stayed as well if he could have, as both players radiated the spirit of camaraderie. Anyway, there may be no better way to “come down” from the heights of collaboration with an orchestra than to join a section for such a work as Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony – because it is basically coming “down” to Cloud Nine. Composed at a point of great joy in Mendelssohn’s life, he wrote to his sister “It will be the most joyous piece I have ever done.” This joy has reached almost two centuries of beneficiaries.

The LICO forces gave the symphony an exciting ride, and it sounded as fresh as ever (remarkable considering how often the piece has been excerpted and its themes plundered for various uses).  Of course, every musician has favorite interpretations of such a work, and this listener’s favorite renditions of the first movement have held back ever so slightly on the tempo, enabling a feeling of what one might call traction, for lack of a better word. It is not that the tempi taken in the first and last movements were necessarily faster than the average, but that a suavity and forward fluidity sometimes swept over the rhythmic “grit” with its high gloss.  There were also times when Maestro Fagone countered this tendency with a more grounded feeling – and angular motions to bring that out – and it was a joy. He too seemed elated and smiled broadly for much of it.

In the third movement the only quibble was the occasional need for more clarity ensemble-wise, but the horns deserve special mention for their exceptional playing here, as well as in the fourth movement. The final Saltarello was an intense drive to the finish, and the large audience gave a rousing ovation in appreciation. It closed what was an excellent and quite memorable concert. Kudos to all!

Caitlin Broms-Jacobs, oboe

Adam Sherkin, piano

Tenri Cultural Institute, New York, NY

April 27, 2024

The Tenri Cultural Institute’s suitability for an ebullient Saturday night recital of living composers’ works included the benefit of bright lighting, the better for digesting fancied-up titles and a ten-page, cell-phone-only program. Canadian pianist Adam Sherkin, the curator of Piano Lunaire (a clever reference to Schoenberg and his mad mascot), named this tenth of eleven concerts for the premiere of his own composition Plastic Dawn, performed at the top of the program. Additional premieres by Mr. Sherkin and his Toronto colleagues were introduced by the composers themselves in attendance or on video projection, and a few oft-performed pieces better known to a niche crowd received their first New York hearings or revivals.

Trained at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory, London’s Royal College, and New York’s Mannes College, Mr. Sherkin shows classical restraint giving way to a philosophical propensity for eerie or even frightening images. He explains the symbolism of Plastic Dawn as a series of “manufactured beginnings” that fits nicely with the “Aubade” genre of his solo piano character pieces but leaves many tentative loose ends. Morning motifs abound in the five-movement oboe/piano work, which opens with a free solo oboe cadenza he describes as a sun salutation. The second movement adds choleric jabs and interjections from the piano, continuing its dialectical opposition until the fifth movement resolves all with glassy, transparent serenity in both oboe and piano. Mr. Sherkin’s piano work from 2022-24, New Aubades, flavors its morning coffee not with a primitive asana but with a joyful transformation of Ravel’s Scarbo, evolving from wild tremolos in two hands to short gestures and flashes, to a closing movement titled “Ineo” (literally, I go in [to something new]) in a more objective and comforting style.

At least two other offerings after 2020 share the Covid-laden premonition of apocalypse. The Tender Scars of Memory, published this year by Harry Stafylakis, unfolds nostalgically from a kind of New Age “Greensleeves” in a clearly organic form, with the composer’s characteristic texture of repeated notes influenced by guitar figures and Greek folk music. The score’s tempo directions range from “Something darker is being dredged up” to “Right back where we started,” although the idiomatic writing for both instruments needs no dramatic cues to make its mark. In the Garden of Endless Sleep, a 2020 tapestry by Kevin Lau, employs improvisational polyrhythms, expansive intervals, and recitative rather than cool 9/8 pastoral meters to capture Lau’s own longing and fear of the unknown. Repeated notes here are used as stationary vibrato, the negation of tonality mollified only by the mournful sighs of the oboe. The work’s closing punchline materializes as an A-minor song over the drone of the lowest note on the piano keyboard, with the dreariness of Shostakovich and the soothing regularity of a Bach prelude.

By default, Alexina Louie’s 2012 Filigree became a traditional repertory piece, although its Tenri performance was listed as a first in the U.S. Apart from exotic instrumental timbres, pedaling, and minimalist reiterations of broken clusters, Asian influences were not as apparent here as in some of Ms. Louie’s other works. Particularly memorable were the surreal opening, a transformation of Debussy’s Des pas sur la neige, the interplay of synthetic scales and fantastic dance rhythms, and the tribute to Messiaen’s Vingt regards in the piano’s magical treble sonorities near the end. A silly encore, Alex Shapiro’s Brat, left us with a touch of humor after the evening’s probing excursions into metaphysics.

At face value as an oboe/piano recital of new music, this successful concert received a rightfully deserved, heartfelt response from Tenri fans, who listened acutely to the latest installment of Mr. Sherkin’s cryptic programming. The playing was elegant and effective, taking advantage of the gallery’s immediate acoustic presence and luminous space with varied articulations, melismatic flourishes (Ms. Broms-Jacobs), growling chromaticism and pointillistic chimes (Mr. Sherkin), and visceral harmonic progressions that always moved forward and never settled into cinematic cliché. Ms. Broms-Jacobs showed her true colors as a principal orchestral player from Manitoba and Winnipeg by delivering a rhythmically crafted, supremely reliable part that was easy to follow and lyrical against the backdrop of every pianistic trick. Overbalancing of piano (conquering oboe) was, actually, an issue, perhaps attributable to where the oboist was standing or to the hall itself, or to the long piano stick.

The concert might have been equally enjoyable with a shorter set of written notes. The advertised “Pre-show chat” from 7:30 to 8:00 unfortunately referred only to the murmur of attendees in the foyer. The external enigma of the evening was Tenri’s presumed need to fill our ears with background jazz recordings while wine and snacks were served.