Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents The Music of Karl Jenkins in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents The Music of Karl Jenkins in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents The Music of Karl Jenkins
Karl Jenkins, composer/conductor
Jonathan Griffith, DCINY Artistic Director/Principal conductor
Lucy Knight, soprano; Mark Watson, baritone
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra; Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
January 19, 2015

In what has become an annual tradition, Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presented a concert in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day featuring the music of Karl Jenkins. This edition was truly global in scope, with singers from Germany, South Africa, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, Canada, Russia, Ireland, Italy, California, and Massachusetts (including a children’s chorus). With a first half consisting of the United States premieres of Llareggub and The Healer, a second half featuring The Peacemakers, and a post-concert opportunity to greet Mr. Jenkins and have him autograph his latest CD release, it had all the makings of a special evening.

Before the concert proper, Mr. Jenkins joined DCINY conductor Jonathan Griffith on stage for an impromptu conversation about the works on the first half. There was much laughter as Mr. Griffith attempted to pronounce poet Dylan Thomas’s (invented) “Welsh” word Llareggub. Mr. Jenkins smiled as he gave what would be a “proper” Welsh pronunciation (k(ch)la-REG-gub), and then told the audience that when spelled backwards it has a very different meaning in English, a wordplay betraying Thomas’s sense of humor. I leave it for the reader to figure it out! Mr. Jenkins also expressed his admiration and thanks for the many texts written especially for him by his wife, Carol Barratt, a formidable talent in her own right. After a few closing words about Mr. Jenkins’s esteem for Terry Waite (who was captured by terrorists in January 1987 while working to secure the release of hostages, and held captive for nearly five years), who provided friendship and texts to the composer, Mr. Jenkins then took to the podium to conduct Llareggub.

Llareggub is a musical snapshot of life of the fictional village setting of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood. The three movements, Starless and Bible-Black, Eli Jenkins’ Prayer, and At the Sailor’s Arms, are played without break. Starless and Bible-Black is serene, with an atmospheric feeling that is strongly suggestive of a pitch-black night that slowly moves towards daybreak. The second movement, Eli Jenkins’ Prayer, features a quote from a hymn, “Burnt Oak”, written by Karl Jenkins’s father (not to be confused with Eli Jenkins, who was a creation of Dylan Thomas and bears no relation to the composer’s father). Concertmaster Jorge Ávila played his solo part with expressive feeling that was sentimental, but never maudlin. The finale, At the Sailor’s Arms, is a visit to the local pub, filled with chat, drinking, merriment, more drinking, brawling, and drinking until drunk. Complete with a honky-tonk piano, it was just like being there in the thick of it. One could easily imagine Dylan Thomas amongst the locals, matching them drink for drink. Mr. Jenkins led the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra with his customary understated manner, always letting the music and the musicians take center stage. Llagerggub was a delightful quarter-hour visit to the wonders and whimsy of Wales, a trip this listener very much enjoyed taking. I suspect the large audience shared my opinion, as they gave Mr. Jenkins a hearty ovation.

Karl Jenkins

Karl Jenkins

 

After this happy romp, it was time to move to the serious side with The Healer. Subtitled A Cantata for St. Luke, The Healer is a nine-movement work scored for soprano and baritone soloists, chorus, strings, oboe (doubling on cor anglais), and percussion. Taking a page from his earlier Stabat Mater, the composer uses the middle-eastern percussion instruments (the riq and darbuca) to accentuate the sounds of the ancient land. With text from the Book of Common Prayer, St. Luke (from the Authorised Version (Luke 15: 3-7) and Vulgate (Luke 2:29-32) version of the Holy Bible), William Blake, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Carol Barratt, Vivien Harrison, and Terry Waite, The Healer is another demonstration of Mr. Jenkins’s seemingly limitless ability to capture the essence of such evocative material with the simplest of means. A perusal of the score highlights this – it is deceptively simple, but the net effect is one of great import. This is the mark of a composer who has the courage to stick to his guns in a musical world that often scoffs at such an approach as pandering to the hoi polloi.

Highlights for this listener were in abundance, however I will limit myself to those I found the most compelling. Soprano Lucy Knight captured the essence of “The eyes of a child” with true innocence. Baritone Mark Watson projected strength throughout, and his “The Shepherd” was particularly fine. The large chorus was well prepared, from the chant-like Prologue to the Epilogue (Nunc dimittis). Special mention goes to oboe/cor anglais soloist Ryan Walsh for his excellent playing. The Healer can well join the growing list of works by Mr. Jenkins that should enjoy widespread performances.

After Intermission, it was time for the two-part, seventeen movement The Peacemakers. Scored for orchestra, chorus, soprano soloist, bass and ethnic flutes, ethnic percussion, Uilleann pipes, soprano saxophone, and electric bass, The Peacemakers resembles his earlier works The Armed Man in its blueprint and Stabat Mater in multicultural influences. Quoting Mr. Jenkins, “One line from Rumi sums up the ethos of the piece: ‘All religions, all singing one song: Peace be with you.'” This is an ideal that our world sadly is sorely lacking, as the composer himself lamented in his program notes. The texts for The Peacemakers comes from a variety of sources, some expected (Scripture from the Bible and Qur’an, Gandhi, the Dali Lama, Nelson Mandela, etc.), some unexpected (Albert Schweitzer, Percy Shelley, Anne Frank), and of course, Carol Barratt and Terry Waite.

Unlike The Armed Man, with the duality of war and peace, The Peacemakers is singularly focused on peace. The music draws one in and holds one in its thrall, rather than grabbing and pulling one as The Armed Man does. This is not to say that there are not any martial moments in The Peacemakers, but when they appear, it is a joyful call in the name of peace rather than any warlike saber rattling. As much as I would enjoy commenting on each of the seventeen movements, I am going to single out two movements that were my favorites, the hauntingly beautiful The Dove, with Lucy Knight’s exquisite heart-melting voice, and the amazing He had a dream- Elegy for Martin Luther King Jr. with the soprano saxophone’s bluesy riffs winding in and out of the melody, complete with a quote from Robert Schumann’s Träumerei. It could easily stand alone in performance , and would be a welcome addition to any musical tributes for Dr. King. Kudos to all the soloists (Jorge Ávila, Violin, Jesse Han, Bass Flute, Premik Russell Tubbs, Bonsuri and Ethnic Flutes, from NYJAZZ: Rob Derke, Soprano Saxophone; Carlo de Rosa, Electric Bass; and Andy Blanco, Ethnic Percussion, Joseph Mulvantrey, Uilleann Pipes), the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra, and the Distinguished Concerts Singers International.

Maestro Jonathan Griffith led yet another winning performance, as I have come to expect from this fine musician. It is no surprise that Mr. Griffith was awarded the 2014 American Prize in Conducting- professional orchestra division. The ovation was long, loud, and well earned. Mr. Jenkins took to the stage and modestly bowed while saluting the performers. It was a wonderful ending to a exceptional evening of music. I am already looking forward to January 18, 2016.

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by Jeffrey Williams  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Misatango: A Tango Mass from Argentina in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Misatango: A Tango Mass from Argentina in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Misatango: A Tango Mass from Argentina
Flutopia Wind Ensemble; Jennifer Lapple, Director
Tierra Adentro De Nuevo Mexico Dance Ensemble; Joaquin Encinias, Director/Vocalist
Pablo Christian Di Mario, Director; Martín Palmeri, Visiting Composer/Pianist; Kristy Swann, mezzo-soprano
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra, Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
January 18, 2015

 

On a cold, rainy afternoon in New York, Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presented a concert entitled Misatango: A Tango Mass from Argentina. What better way to way to escape the weather than with the vibrant, lively sounds of far away Argentina, courtesy of performers from France, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, and of course, Argentina. Also featuring the Flutopia Wind Ensemble and the Tierra Adentro De Nuevo Mexico Dance Ensemble, the stage was set for a performance that proved to be a treat for the ears and eyes alike.

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Misatango

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Misatango

The Flutopia Wind Ensemble took to the stage for the first half. Led by Jennifer Lapple, Flutopia is comprised of high school wind players from the Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia areas. As one might guess from the name, the group is heavily weighted with flutists (with nineteen flutists among the forty-nine total players listed in the program). Opening with Beyond the Horizon, by Rossano Galante (a work that bears more than a passing resemblance to Frank Erickson’s Toccata for Band) the young players of Flutopia got off to a nervous start, with intonation issues and cracked notes in the brass section. One might chalk this up to jitters, but there was also a rather timid, “play-it-safe” approach that any experienced brass player will tell you is almost a guarantee for these problems to occur. Happily, the second piece, Zoltán Kodály’s Dances of Galanta was played with precision and charm. If anything (and this was a recurring theme throughout), one wanted a lot less restraint and more extroverted, ebullient playing. The ever-popular Eric Whitacre’s October was nicely played, and David Shaffer’s Costa del Sol was just pure fun. Ending with an energetically played Danse Bacchanale (from Camille Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila), Flutopia brought their many supporters to their feet in a loud ovation. No matter what reservations I might have about a performance, it is always a delight to see the beaming smiles of the young performers from the stage.

 

A Tango Mass from Argentina

A Tango Mass from Argentina

There were many individual soloists who played with great skill and polish. I would like to make special mention of the excellent (un-credited) clarinet soloist, as her playing was a cut above her talented band mates. Ms. Lapple led with a clear baton technique and demonstrative gestures to her players. Even between pieces, she took the time to step off the podium and communicate with the group. This is a well considered, nurturing approach, which can only benefit the developing young musicians. As a final thought from an eternal band geek, I would very much like to see Flutopia “go for it”, to take risks and really let loose.

After intermission, the Tierra Adentro De Nuevo Mexico Dance Ensemble, a group of young men and ladies, gave a wonderful performance of the art of flamenco. I will leave any specific commentary about the dancing to those who know better. That said, I will channel my inner Bruno Tonioli (the extremely passionate and animated judge of Dancing With the Stars), grab my score paddle, and thrust it up while shouting “TEN!”

Misatango: A Tango Mass from Argentina

Misatango: A Tango Mass from Argentina

The last work of the evening, Misa A Buenos Aires (Misatango), is a pairing of the traditional mass with the sounds of the tango. I admit that I had my doubts about this concept, but was still intrigued about it all as I watched the three-hundred-plus singers take the stage. Misatango is a six-movement work scored for chorus, string orchestra, bandoneón, and mezzo-soprano soloist. Quoting the composer, Martín Palmeri, “…my objective in this composition was to maintain the harmonic language, rhythms, melodic designs, and all the characteristics of the tango within the orchestra score, thus allowing the chorus to have the full liberty to ‘just sing the mass.'” One can say with certainty that Mr. Palmeri succeeded brilliantly in his objective. Misatango captures the simmering tension of the tango without any kitsch in the vocal writing. Indeed, one can sense the influences of Mozart throughout with a distinctive Argentinean flavor. Of the six movements, the Credo was the most compelling to this listener, but each movement commands interest.

Special praise must go to Kristy Swann, whose voice was simply ethereal, a beacon of light that would pierce any darkness. Conductor Pablo Christian Di Mario led the chorus and orchestra with skill, keeping the huge vocal forces from covering the orchestra while allowing them equal prominence. The Distinguished Concerts Orchestra was particularly outstanding in one of the better performances I have heard from these players. The audience rewarded all the performers a loud and prolonged ovation, giving Mr. Palmeri the lion’s share of the applause.

 

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by Jeffrey Williams  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
The Pathway Concert Series presents Hyojung Huh in Review

The Pathway Concert Series presents Hyojung Huh in Review

Hyojung Huh, piano
“Earth and Heaven”: Chorale Fantasies 1, 2, and 3 by Shinuh Lee
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
December 18, 2014

It seemed as though there were two recitals happening side-by-side on Thursday, December 18, 2014. The first: a display of superior pianistic skill, with thundering climaxes, ethereal pianissimi, lyricism, beautiful tone, and totally committed playing. The second: an overview of one contemporary composer’s work that, to put it positively, would be called “eclectic, polystylistic.” To put it less positively: “derivative” and at times “cliché.”

Both composer and pianist are obviously totally involved with a certain Christian mystical communion with their beliefs. This allies them with Bach and Messiaen (a large influence on Shinuh Lee), and that is not bad company at all. Wasn’t it Stravinsky who said “Steal only from the best.”?

Shinuh Lee’s three Chorale Fantasies are ambitious works, difficult to play, but somewhat unwieldy in their attempt to illustrate religious mysticism with musical tones. She is very lucky indeed to have such a gloriously gifted pianist as Hyojung Huh as her advocate.

The three works were played in the reverse order of their composition. The third Fantasy “Alleluia,” began with impressionistic sounds, awash in pedal. Someone should show Ms. Huh how to release the pedal without the annoying “damper catch” sound at the end, for it detracted from the rapt intensity of the lingering resonances. Birdsong made its entrance (Messiaen), and mostly one was reminded of Scriabin and Debussy. At times, a simplistic interruption was heard in imitating voices. Much of the time, I wanted Ms. Lee to stay with one idea longer. However, at other times I wished certain passages were better edited. This fantasy didn’t really sound like what the word “Alleluia” denotes to me (and did to the early Christians): joy and triumph.

The second fantasy, “The Collar,” was based on a not-very-subtle mystical poem by 17th century poet George Herbert. I was an English minor in college, and even I find Herbert rough going today. How all this became music was again, a matter of subjective opinion. The poem tells of the weary, cynical poet who is lamenting his sterility, when suddenly he listens and there is the voice of God calling him “Child.” The “collar” is the restraining device that keeps us connected to our divinity, but that makes us seem like dogs, doesn’t it? Of course, clerics wear collars too. In this work, influences included: Copland (Piano Variations), Boulez (without the intellectual rigor), Bartók, and Prokofiev. It was uneven in its pacing, not Ms. Huh’s fault, who, by the way, played the entire incredibly complex evening from memory.

After intermission came the first Fantasy “Comfort, comfort my people,” based on selections from the Bible. Each section has a subtitle taken from The Screwtape Letters by mystic author C.S. Lewis. Here, Ms. Lee introduced her own original chorale melody to serve as intermezzi between the more tempestuous sections dealing with man’s sinful nature. Eventually she quoted from Bach himself-Christ lag in Todesbanden (Christ lay in the bonds of death, used in Cantata BWV4), and the comparison was not kind to Ms. Lee’s own chorale, which was bland by comparison. Her influences here seemed to be: Prokofiev (the “Montagues and Capulets,” from Romeo and Juliet), Ginastera, Bach-Busoni, Rachmaninoff, and Messiaen’s Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jésus (Twenty Looks at the Baby Jesus, which sounded more like a borrowing rather than a mere influence). Ms. Huh had the opportunity to use some fierce fist-clusters in the lowest register of the piano; and I must say Ms. Lee’s use of the total instrument and its color possibilities was most attractive. I just wish that her compositional voice was more original.

As for Ms. Huh, I’d dearly love her to give a recital of more varied fare, without abandoning her muse, Ms Lee. Bach, late-period Liszt, Messiaen, Scriabin would all suit her. Ms. Huh, as George Herbert said: “There is fruit, and thou hast hands.”

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by Frank Daykin  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
HH Promotions London, LLC presents Carlo Grante in Review

HH Promotions London, LLC presents Carlo Grante in Review

HH Promotions London LLC presents Carlo Grante, Piano
Masters of High Romanticism – Concert II: Schumann – The Piano Sonatas,
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center New York, NY
December 15, 2014
 

Italian pianist Carlo Grante is a musician of superabundant gifts. Possessing a discography of over fifty CD recordings, he is much more than a recording artist, demonstrating such thorough pianistic mastery onstage that, if his concerts were recorded straight to disc, one would be hard pressed to think of a single spot to edit. He is unflappable in the face of tremendous technical, musical, and intellectual challenges, reminding this reviewer in many ways of Marc-André Hamelin, but with a mellower persona. While Mr. Grante’s weighty program of Schumann Piano Sonatas at Alice Tully Hall perhaps precluded glimpses of the lighter showmanship aspect of Mr. Hamelin, Mr. Grante’s prodigious skills are certainly comparable, and that says a lot.

Incidentally, these two pianists, in conjunction with their Godowsky recordings, were first linked in many minds with the exposure of the now infamous Joyce Hatto recording fraud in 2007, through which their work was appropriated. Though Ms. Hatto was described in the Boston Globe as “the greatest living pianist that almost no one has ever heard of,” she had in fact been wrongfully credited with recordings by numerous other pianists, including Mr. Grante and Mr. Hamelin. If turnabout is fair play, Mr. Grante could thus perhaps have been described as one of “the greatest living pianists that almost no one has ever heard of” – except that we have now heard of him, and for good reason, with a career that has been on quite a roll.

As part of a three-concert solo series entitled “Masters of High Romanticism” Mr. Grante brings to this Lincoln Center season the complete Ballades and Scherzi of Chopin (reviewed in this journal-Carlo Grante Review 10/31/14 ), his recent complete Piano Sonatas of Schumann, and, yet to come, Variations of Brahms (February 10, 2015- not to be missed). This series is no mean feat and is bookended by other concerts including fistfuls more of – you guessed it – Godowsky, plus more Chopin and a brand new work by Bruce Adolphe.

While expectations were quite high for this all-Schumann program, and the pianist was in flawless form, this reviewer will confess to a bit of a growing bias against “survey” programs, and this recital reinforced the feeling. While it was interesting to hear the three Sonatas in a row, Op. 11 in F-sharp minor from 1835, Op. 14 in F minor from 1836/1853, and the Op. 22 in G minor from 1833-38, binge listening does not seem the ideal way to experience these works. The idiosyncratic Schumann tends to undercut himself when heard in large quantities, especially when all is grappling within versions of Sonata form, so while it was a fascinating journey in the name of thoroughness and scholarship (reflected well in Mr. Grante’s own thoughtful program notes), one might have enjoyed more of the quirkiness, the intimacy, and the multiplicity that are so quintessentially Schumann, had one included one of the sets such as Kreisleriana or Davidsbündlertänze. Schumann did display manic swings in the Sonatas, but one missed much of the extremely free musical expressiveness that lives in so many of the composer’s other works. If this was to be a traversal of Schumann within the framework of “High Romanticism” perhaps the choice of sonatas from essentially one decade was not ideal. One craved more of the Florestan-Eusebius duality in Mr. Grante’s sane and cerebral renderings. Mr. Grante’s modest demeanor is refreshing for such a powerhouse, but he might have benefited at times from a more demonstrative approach. One eagerly awaits his Brahms on the basis of his tremendous control, effortless technique, and keen musical mind.

His Schumann was in each case, as mentioned before, immaculate, with no hint of technical strain in the large swaths of musical texture. Sections that often seem sprawling and unwieldy were kept well in hand. Mr. Grante recorded these works years ago, and the familiarity shows. A minor grievance was some excessive blurring, which may have been attributable to the acoustics in conjunction with the instrument.

The highest points artistically for me were in the F Minor and F-sharp minor Sonatas – especially the Aria movement of the latter. Oddly, though, the performance of the more accessible and popular G Minor Sonata will not linger in memory with as much luster. Perhaps, because it stands more easily on its own, it was left to do just that, with less energy in the projection. Its Andantino, which I consider a movement of great transcendental beauty, just missed being the dream that it can be. Of course, one’s preferences can grow rather set with a lifetime of hearing (and playing) such favorites.

All in all it was a fascinating evening, an unusual program from a fine pianist whom I hope to hear again soon.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Messiah . . . Refreshed! in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Messiah . . . Refreshed! in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Messiah . . . Refreshed!
Eugene Goossens’s and Thomas Beecham’s 1959 re-orchestration for full symphony orchestra.
Jonathan Griffith, conductor
Penelope Shumate, soprano; Holly Sorenson, mezzo-soprano; John McVeigh, tenor; Christopher Job, bass/baritone
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra, Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
November 30, 2014
 

Okay purists, put down the lorgnettes and stop sniffing in disdain. Absolutely no Messiahs were harmed in the making of this Messiah. Quite the contrary, a mostly thrilling and detailed performance of this evergreen work, full of passion and commitment, took place on November 30th at Avery Fisher Hall. Messiah is the one work that overshadows absolutely everything else in Handel’s output.

Let’s get the bad jokes out of the way now: “Messiah Inflated,” “The Biggest Gainer,” “Enlarge Ye my Orchestra.” Feel better? Gigantism began creeping into the work even in Handel’s time, with the famous English choral societies often numbering in the hundreds. This was the age of absolute rulers—palaces and pomp. And no less a genius than Mozart thought fit to re-instrument it for his time and style. These practical men of music didn’t suffer from the stilting reverence of which we are often guilty. If we are going to perform this work in a hall that seats 3000, some adjustment may be permitted.

With just a few cuts introduced by Eugene Goossens, the performance clocked in at about 2 hours 40 minutes, the same as on my Christopher Hogwood ground-breaking “historically informed” recording from the 1980s. Conductor Jonathan Griffith led the massed forces with great energy and a compromise approach, including some stylish double dotting, but broader tempi to accommodate the increased instrumental sound. He also introduced some very “grand old British gentleman” ritards which were absolutely welcome. I don’t know if that was his innate musicality, or if they were specified by Goossens or Beecham. The only minor annoyance was the presence of the triangle and cymbal, neither of which added much to my enjoyment.

The “Pifa,” or Pastoral Symphony that is in Part I was absolutely magical in the pianissimo return of the theme, played by a smaller cohort with pinpoint style and hushed, awestruck beauty.

When the chorus entered for its first number “And the glory of the Lord,” the sound was absolutely thrilling. These choristers are a cosmopolitan bunch, from France, Brazil, Guatemala, Georgia, Kansas, Hong Kong, Wisconsin, New York, Australia, Tennessee, Missouri, and Germany, obviously so well prepared by their local conductors that they can travel to New York and put themselves together with Maestro Griffith and his orchestra, who brought great unity and color variety to their singing, which was never generic, and was most exciting in the full-voiced passages. Their clarity and rhythmic vitality was very good in the difficult chains of sixteenth notes.

The four soloists were also excellent, with visible involvement in their texts, crystal clear diction, and stamina. Tenor John McVeigh has a sweet lyrical voice that would sound well in front of a Baroque orchestra as well. His “Behold, and see if there be any sorrow” was a highlight of the tenor-heavy Part II.

 

Messiah...Refreshed!

Messiah…Refreshed!

 

Soprano Penelope Shumate was a real find for me, with a voice that has been described previously in New York Concert Review as “radiant,” and I can see why. The clear tones were true and expressive, one of the best “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion” that I have ever heard live. Her “I know that my redeemer liveth” was lovely.

The mezzo-soprano, Holly Sorenson, had perhaps the hardest job being heard over the increased orchestration, no fault of hers, but an accident of the lower tessitura. Her “He was despised” was lovely and appropriately grief-stricken, but I wanted to hear the middle section and da capo (shame on Goossens for this one).

Bass-baritone Christopher Job avoided the hollow, sepulchral tones that one sometimes hears from true basses. His voice ideally suited the punishing “The trumpet shall sound,” and was every bit the match for the clarino trumpet (excellently played). However, I would have wished for a darker color on “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,” which he did beautifully on “Behold, I tell you a mystery,” with “mystery” having its own special mysticism reflected in the voice.

Griffith found a nuance I had only heard once before (in a “historically informed” performance by Les Arts Florissants): the lightening of the voices in the chorus “His yoke is easy and his burden is light” on the final two words, perfectly realized tone painting. The Hallelujah chorus and the concluding “Worthy is the lamb that was slain” and fugal “Amen” benefited from two extra “ambush” antiphonal choirs placed in the left and right balconies of Avery Fisher Hall. The proximity of the sound to the audience only added to the grand intensity of these seminal moments.

Worthy indeed, was this Messiah.

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by Frank Daykin  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents With Grace: The Music of Gwyneth Walker in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents With Grace: The Music of Gwyneth Walker in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents With Grace: The Music of Gwyneth Walker
SoHarmoniums , Elizabeth McKinney Núñez, director
Nancy Menk, guest conductor
Gwyneth Walker, composer-in-residence
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra, Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
November 29, 2014

 

SoHarmoniums

SoHarmoniums

On November 29, Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presented a concert entitled With Grace: The Music of Gwyneth Walker. There was a festive mood in the air as the audience members happily saluted their favorites. I was seated next to a group of very enthusiastic alumnae from Saint Mary’s Women’s College in Indiana, each of whom had a sleigh bell to ring with delight when the members of that school’s choir took to the stage. “The Bells of Saint Mary’s, you know,” one of these ladies quipped to me. It was yet another reminder about the DCINY experience – joy abounding for performers and audience members. One might think that this listener, a veteran DCINY concert attendee, would be jaded about this, but it still delights me, and I suspect it always will.

The first half showcased the talents of New York’s own SoHarmoniums, and the second featured the music of the well-loved Gwyneth Walker, with chorus members from Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Canberra, Australia. It was a wonderful way to kick off the holiday season.

With Grace: The Music of Gwyneth Walker

With Grace: The Music of Gwyneth Walker

SoHo based group SoHarmoniums took to the stage for the first half. Led by Elizabeth McKinney Núñez, this fifty- member women’s ensemble joined with the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra, and proved to be a well-prepared ensemble that delivered excellent performances. Opening with The Tree of Peace, adapted from the poem “O Brother Man” by John Greenleaf Whittier, the tone was set- this was not to be a “glee club” performance. It was full of import, well-controlled harmonies, and tight balance. This song was followed by a polished rendering of “O Lovely Peace” from George Frideric Handel’s Judas Maccabeus. The next work, Garland, featuring four poems of Emily Dickinson (Is Heaven a physician?, Crumbling is not an instant’s act, We cover thee, and The life we have is very great), was an orchestration by Jim Papoulis of an original composition by Mark Adamo. The essence of Dickinson’s poetry was captured in many ways – there is at times an otherworldly feel, at other times hectic and harried, and often just morose; I believe, however, that this large-scale idea is less well-suited to her poetry than the original scoring. The sparseness of the poetry cries out for a similar approach. The performance, though, was truly exceptional.

 

After this, we heard the song South Sámi People (Åarjel Saemieh), by Frode Fjellheim (b. 1959), whose work has gained interest largely based on his work “Vuelie”, which is the title song for Frozen, the Disney mega-blockbuster. This piece is based on the Sámi style of yoik, an ancient chanting tradition. It is thought that there are fewer than two hundred people who still speak South Sámi today. The music has a primitive, tribal feeling, with an infectious rhythmic quality. It was an effective and clever antidote to the Dickinson work. To end the half, the SoHarmoniums let loose in an unabashedly fun-filled Joy to the World/Joyful, Joyful, which can be simply described as a “Joy to the World” and “Ode to Joy” mash-up. It was a sure-fire crowd pleaser and a happy ending that won the hearts of the audience.

 

With Grace: The Music of Gwyneth Walker

With Grace: The Music of Gwyneth Walker

After intermission, conductor Nancy Menk took to the podium to lead in a selection of works by American composer Gwyneth Walker (b. 1947). She reinforced my already favorable opinion of her work by her strongly focused approach. Ms. Menk runs a tight ship, and the results bear this out in fine performances.

Opening the half was I Thank You God, using text from E.E, Cummings. It was surprisingly weighty to me, perhaps based on my over-exposure to Cummings’s lighter works. At any rate, I was completely won over by the end. It was a great start to the half, and it gave this listener a healthy appreciation for Ms. Walker the composer.

Songs for Women’s Voices No. 1-6, from the 1992 choral cycle of the same name, followed. The texts for these songs comes from the poetry of May Swenson (1913-1989). Before each song, each poem was recited from the stage. The narrator was DCINY’s own Andrea Macy, who projected the various qualities of the poems, some sassy, some serene, others searching for meaning, with a strong dramatic sense, strong and confident, but never resorting to over-emoting or “hamming it up”. These are the works of a skilled composer, rich in melodic invention, without being trite or derivative. It is easy to understand Ms. Walker’s popularity when one hears a cycle like this. Highlights for this listener were the second song “Mornings Innocent” with its “natural”, pastoral qualities, the interweaving of voices in “The Name is Changeless [God]”, and the resigned feeling that remained unresolved on “In Autumn” [I Will Lie Down].

It was a good programming to follow with the light, happy feelings in This Train. Crossing the Bar was a simple, poignant, “heart-on-sleeve” piece that was magical. Ms. Walker came to the stage at the end of the piece to the cheers of the audience.

SoHarmoniums

SoHarmoniums

SoHarmomiums joined with the Distinguished Concerts Singers International in a spirited performance of How Can I Keep From Singing? to end the night with a bang. The audience loved it and jumped to their feet to salute the performers, and Ms. Walker, who returned to the stage once more to collect her richly deserved accolades from the appreciative audience. It was a fitting close to a most enjoyable evening.

 

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by Jeffrey Williams  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
Young Concert Artists (YCA) presents Yun-Chin Zhou in Review

Young Concert Artists (YCA) presents Yun-Chin Zhou in Review

Yun-Chin Zhou, piano
Winner of the  2013 Young Concert Artists  International Auditions
The Peter Marino Concert
Susan Wadsworth, Director
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
November 18, 2014

On a terribly cold and windy night, Pianist Yun- Chin Zhou made an promising debut under the auspices of the indefatigable Susan Wadsworth, celebrating her 54th year as founder of Young Concert Artists (YCA). The bone-chilling weather, however, didn’t diminish the size of the audience, who seemed quite happy to be there and entertained.

It was apparent that Mr. Zhou really was enjoying himself and the feedback of the audience which was at times very demonstrative with several standing ovations.

Mr. Zhou, born in China, began his piano studies at the age of seven. He came to the United States at the age of nineteen to study at the Curtis Institute of Music with Gary Graffman. He is currently working on a master’s degree on scholarship at The Juilliard School with Robert McDonald. He has won several awards both in China and internationally.

The program took awhile to catch on as there wasn’t much contrast to start. He opened with a deceptively simple sonata of Haydn, the E-flat major. Hob. XVI: 49. The performance could have benefited with a little more dramatic significance, and the polyphonic development could have been clearer. It lasted approximately thirteen minutes. This was followed by Liszt’s Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude, which lasts eighteen minutes, and while having many beautiful moments, overstays its welcome. The closer before intermission was the famously difficult transcription for piano of La Valse by Ravel. Here was something with which Mr. Zhou showed what he could do technically with the instrument. Mr. Zhou made this piece, a favorite of Ruth Laredo’s, his own. It was a pleasant coincidence that he won the Ruth Laredo Memorial Prize. I had the overall feeling that Mr. Zhou was very much influenced by the French School.

After intermission, Mr. Zhou performed Six Chansons by the French popular singer Charles Trenet (1913-2001), as transcribed for piano solo by pianist Alexis Weissenberg. They are full of charm, and quite jazzy, and I doubt Weissenberg played them any better. Mr. Zhou caught all the charm, cuteness, and jazz these songs had to offer. Mr. Zhou’s style was perfect, and for me the best performance of the concert. It was a little surprising to hear this music on a classical concert at Carnegie Hall, but the audience loved it.

There is no question but that Mr. Zhou has amazing fingers. Scales, trills and octaves in either hand were simply child’s play for him. I missed though a large sound, especially in the bass, which could be attributed to the instrument- it is hard to say. Mr. Zhou does not use his shoulders or even much arm weight, which could also account for this certain thinness of tone and occasionally harsh sound in an attempt to force the instrument to play loud. This was apparent to me particularly in the 1931 revised version of the Rachmaninoff Sonata No. 2, which closed the recital. As if the Rachmaninoff Sonata wasn’t enough, Mr. Zhou gave a stunning account of the Soirée de Vienne, Op. 56, a paraphrase of themes from Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, as arranged by Alfred Grünfeld. The audience rightfully cheered yelling “Bravo!” at the close. There was to be another encore, a beautifully performed arrangement of “My Joys” from Polish Songs, Op. 74 by Chopin-Liszt.

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by Howard Aibel  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Carmina amoris: Songs of Love in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Carmina amoris: Songs of Love in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents Carmina amoris: Songs of Love
Lehigh University Department of Music; Lehigh University Choral Arts
Steven Sametz, Artistic Director/Conductor/composer; Sun Min Lee, Associate Director
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra
Carmen Pelton, soprano; Tami Petty, soprano (off-stage); William Burden, tenor
Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
November 21, 2014

 

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) is well-known for bringing talented groups from around the globe to New York to appear on the stages of venues such as Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, and of course, Carnegie Hall. On November 21, 2014, DCINY presented a program entitled Carmina amoris: Songs of Love. Featuring the music of Steven Sametz and the vocal talents of Lehigh University, from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, it proved to be a richly rewarding experience for performer and listener alike. On the program were two works: I Have Had Singing, and Carmina amoris (Songs of Love), in its New York premiere. Mr. Sametz conducted his own works.

Carmina Amoris: Songs of Love

Carmina Amoris: Songs of Love

As the chorus members filed onto the stage, my eyes were drawn to something I had not previously experienced at a DCINY concert. Suspended above the stage was a very large LED device on from which the audience could read the lyrics to the works displayed in letters at least a foot high. Not only did this display help draw the eyes from the printed program to the stage, but also had the added benefit of completeness, as the printed program could not reasonably have included all material in a cost-effective way.

The program opened with I Have Had Singing, a short work that takes it lines from the words, quoted by writer Ronald Blythe, of an aged horseman from Suffolk, England, who in the middle of telling the story of his rather hardscrabble life, stopped to say, “but there was always singing; the boys in the fields, the chapels were full of singing. I have sad pleasure enough; I have had singing.” Mr. Sametz’s work captured the essence of these words with fitting musical simplicity and poignancy. Bolstered by the voices of singers who sang from within the audience (a large number only a few feet from me), this music was an enchanting start to the night.

Carmina Amoris: Songs of Love

Carmina Amoris: Songs of Love

Carmina amoris (Songs of Love) is an hour-long, six-movement Choral Symphony, which could be subtitled “Do those who love create dreams for themselves?” – a recurring line in the work. Mr. Sametz carefully selected writings from epigrams, marginalia, and letters from clerics and nuns from the fourth to thirteenth centuries. These medieval texts prove that while we live in an age of technological wonders, in matters of love we are no more advanced than our so-called “dark ages” ancestors. One could even say that we could learn much from the reading of these beautifully written texts, in our age of 140-character missives and acronym-laden sentences.

The opening movement, Quo fugis amabo? (Where do you flee?), is the longest of the works six movements, at twenty minutes. It tells story of lovers separated by the sea, with the sounds of the waves landing on the shore expressing the longing for each other across the distance. Introduced in the first movement is Ausonius’s fourth -century text: “But do we believe that those who love create dreams for themselves?” Tenor soloist William Burden projected the emotions with great feeling and a powerful voice, although he was at times overwhelmed by the large forces behind him. Soprano Carmen Pelton handled the demands of her part, with its frequent forays into the stratospheric range, with the polished technique and confidence of the excellent artist that she most assuredly is. The second movement, Tarantella- Veni, dilectissime (Come, dearest love) is a three-minute outburst of adolescent ardor in the style of the frenzied dance. Mr. Burden delivered his words in a rapid-fire manner, but the diction and clarity were razor sharp- no small achievement! The third movement, Planctus (Lament) is a largely wordless song for an off-stage soprano. The distant sounds and the sparse text are strongly suggestive of the idea that one without love is like a voice without sound. Soprano Tami Petty sang from the very top balcony, hidden in the corner, stage left. She delivered a performance of great beauty, conveying heartbreak as she navigated the extremes of register with brilliance. The movement ends in a nightmarish way, as the chorus ends with the words “a voice without sound.”

Carmina Amoris: Songs of Love

Carmina Amoris: Songs of Love

The fourth and fifth movements take the form of letters and prominently feature Ausonius’s motto at the end of each movement. The fourth movement, entitled Philomele (To Philomela), is filled with the songs of birds and once again featured Ms. Pelton’s amazing coloratura voice, while the fifth movement, entitled Ego per te (I for you), begins as a duet between lovers before the oft-asked question appears again. Ms. Pelton and Mr. Burden were sublime in duet.

 

Carmina Amoris: Songs of Love

Carmina Amoris: Songs of Love

The sixth and final movement, Invehar in Venerem (Venus be damned!) was a turn in a completely different direction! Gone is the lamenting, the longing, the romantic- this is a ten-minute romp filled with displays of temper, vase-breaking, chair-throwing, and hot-blooded passion. The percussion section of the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra set the mood with a fortissimo rhythmic display on a full battery of drums, punctuated by frequent explosive outbursts of sound. The chorus hissed the text in a most sinister fashion, only to be temporarily interrupted by Ausonius’s motto. This interruption was short-lived, though, and the mood shifted back to the angry ranting, building into a wild cacophony with the chorus, orchestra, and soloists building to a fever pitch until all finally exploded. It seemed counter-intuitive to end with such a fiery movement after the others, but after giving it some thought, it seems to me perfectly placed, and in any case, it was a great crowd pleaser, as evidenced by the reaction of a long and raucous standing ovation. Camina amoris is a work that I highly recommend that the reader hear if he ever has the opportunity to do so.

Congratulations to Mr. Sametz, who not only proved to be a gifted composer, but an excellent and animated conductor. The Lehigh Chorus was well prepared and it showed in a fine performance. Kudos go as well to the fine playing of the Distinguished Concerts Orchestra.

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by Jeffrey Williams  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents “The Oracle at Delphi”: The Music of Dinos Constantinides in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents “The Oracle at Delphi”: The Music of Dinos Constantinides in Review

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents “The Oracle at Delphi”: The Music of Dinos Constantinides
Margaret O’Connell, mezzo-soprano; Lin He, violin; Robert DiLutis, clarinet; Michael Gurt, piano
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
November 22, 2014
 

If my Greek philosophy serves me right, the inscription over the entrance to the oracle at Delphi proclaimed its most important maxim before the seeker even entered to ask his real question. That saying, “Know thyself,” aptly describes Greek-American composer Dinos Constantinides. He knows his heritage, style, and compositional craft very well. In this all-Constantinides program, he was privileged to have four extremely capable, committed, and evidently enthusiastically involved artists to bring his works to life. They are all faculty members of Louisiana State University, where he is Boyd Professor, the highest academic rank.

Constantinides’ work is conservative, approachable, and generally tonal. He exemplifies Hindemith’s saying “There are only twelve tones, we must treat them with care.” It is gratifying to find a composer in academia who is not writing serially, but is mining the simple expressive power of the twelve half-tones of our traditional chromatic scale. His hallmarks are: motific unity and good, audible counterpoint, pleasing instrumental sonorities, and a mix of lyricism and jauntiness, even humor. The novice listener can follow the discourse immediately without disorientation.

The first work, Mountains of Epirus, dedicated to the memory of his mother and father, established his general processes, with clear counterpoint in the “At the Village” movement, and a lively motoric seven meter in the “Country Fair” second movement. It was beautifully played, by violinist Lin He and pianist Michael Gurt. Glimpses of modal melodies peek through, though they are probably not quotes, but original outgrowths of his immersion in native folklore. Next came the Midnight Fantasy II for clarinet and piano, whose genesis owes to a small cluster of notes from a Nat King Cole song. The brilliant clarinetist Robert DeLutis, again partnered by Mr. Gurt, conveyed the “musiques nocturnes” feeling well.

Lazy Jack and His Fiddle for unaccompanied violin has the air of a children’s piece, indeed it is based on a children’s tale, but few children would ever be able to negotiate its virtuosic demands. Here, the motific unity lends strength to what might be a lighter, “occasional” sort of piece. The slothful fiddler amuses us by mistaking A-Flat for the last note of a piece in G, then the other way around, before conclusively resolving in G. Transformations for clarinet and piano showed an uncanny unanimity of ensemble between the two players; they were no longer separate, but “one instrument” in thought, execution, and feeling. The endings of movements were transfixing.

Listenings and Silences was the concluding work on the first half, sung unaccompanied by the expressive mezzo-soprano Margaret O’Connell. It is based on poems or poem fragments by the former Poet Laureate of Louisiana, Pinkie Gordon Lane (1923-2008). Ms. Lane’s quietly expressive take on race issues (which earned her no favors with the more militant black community) was evident in the first section “A Quiet Poem,” which was sung with just enough gesture by Ms. O’Connell. “Poem Extract” and “Listenings” were also delivered well, though an unaccompanied voice is so very exposed, a few of the words were lost as she ascended into the upper reaches of her otherwise rich voice.

After intermission, Ms. O’Connell returned for another solo work Delphic Hymn, whose origin was incidental music for a production of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. This was a wordless vocalise, and since no one really knows what Greek music from the second century BC actually sounded like, the claim that it incorporates fragments from the actual antique Delphic Hymn can’t be substantiated. But the work does have atmosphere, although its dimensions were too slight to contain the full horror and anguish of the Oedipus drama.

Music for Violin and Clarinet contained rapid interchanges between the instruments, as they negotiated Prologue, Dialogue, Monologues I and II, and an Epilogue. There was humor here, as the clarinet got the “last word” in during the Dialogue. Fantasia for Solo Clarinet showcased the tonal color range of the marvelous Mr. DiLutis. Idyll, for violin and piano, followed. In my understanding, an idyll is an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene, often an idealized, unsustainable one. This work seemed rather unhappy, meandering through a number of minor keys before finding some sense of resolution.

The final work, The Oracle at Delphi, is scored for the unusual trio combination of violin, clarinet, and piano. The work is based on a modal Greek “folk-like” tune which is developed among the players, reflecting Constantinides’ heritage. His music does not shout at you. It is sensitive, and this work tended to “withdraw” at the end, making a somewhat somber ending for a very honorable afternoon.

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by Frank Daykin  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
Stecher and Horowitz Foundation Presents Charlie Albright in Review

Stecher and Horowitz Foundation Presents Charlie Albright in Review

 
Charlie Albright, Piano
Subculture, Arts Underground, New York, NY
November 20, 2014
 

Charlie Albright is a pianist whose name music-lovers will be hearing more and more. Winner of a slew of awards, most prominently a 2014 Avery Fisher Career Grant, Mr. Albright is now in the company of classical musicians who have become household names (given a classically oriented household anyway) – Ursula Oppens, Richard Stoltzman, Joshua Bell, Hillary Hahn, Yuja Wang, and many others who have made their marks. Mr. Albright will undoubtedly lend his own additional distinction to this already illustrious group.

As there are no applications for the Avery Fisher Career Grant (only recommendation by a board), the awardees must naturally have sufficient careers to be noticed, so some view the award as more of an honorary plum than an early boost. For the early boost, big kudos are due to the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation’s New York International Piano Competition (NYIPC), which awarded their First Prize in 2006 to the then seventeen-year-old Mr. Albright; they are a rare competition that follows up on their laureates, and eight years later they presented him in this concert, an evening not to be forgotten.

The program was, as Mr. Albright described from the stage, made of “familiar and less familiar” works. The more familiar included Beethoven’s Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, Quasi una fantasia (the “Moonlight”), though, as the pianist noted in his informal comments from the stage, it is so famous that it has become almost “infamous” and is relatively underperformed today. It was good to hear this work in its entirety, live, and not massacred by a teenager as it so often is. Mr. Albright took a sprawling, leisurely tempo for the first movement, a challenge to sustain, but he held the audience’s unwavering attention. I was initially concerned about the casual feel of this rather trendy venue (with a bar adjoining and listeners quickly finishing drinks before start time), but I was quickly reassured. Blue lighting set a peaceful atmosphere for the capacity audience of avid listeners, and one could hear the proverbial pin drop. I began to see “what the fuss is all about” with this venue. Classical concert life is evolving in interesting directions, and the attempts to modernize it are interestingly bringing it back to the warm intimacy one associates with nineteenth century salons. What was old is new again. Beethoven, for one, felt new, because as casual as Mr. Albright was in his stage style and commentary, he was equally intense in his high-powered performances. The finale of this 1801 work took on the fire of the master’s Op. 57 or 111. It was brilliant, precise, and powerful.

Janácek’s Piano Sonata 1.X.1905 (“From the Street”) may have been meant to be among the “less familiar” but has been programmed increasingly in the last decade or so, so I’ve heard it no fewer than six times live in the past few years; it is always, however, a revelation. Mr. Albright chose to take dynamic markings to extremes more than I’ve heard in the first movement (especially left hand phrases, even though marked in the score as strong). The exaggeration was striking, although not always completely convincing to me.

The despair inherent in the Janácek was dispelled by Chopin’s well-known Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op. 22. Mr. Albright projected the opening phrases with limpid delicacy and took the ensuing Polonaise by storm. It was a joyous romp, untroubled by petty concerns, free and full of whimsy and yet cohesive, which it often is not. The way Chopin dovetails delicate cadences with bursts of virtuoso energy is enough to cause a good musician the emotional equivalent of whiplash, but Mr. Albright steered things gracefully always, appearing to have fun all the way. In fact, throughout the entire evening, he displayed a joy in playing that was utterly infectious. He disarms jaded concertgoers with an openness and humility that for some reason we are not prepared to expect of one who earned simultaneous degrees in Economics (Harvard), and Pre-Med (Harvard), while studying for a Master of Music degree the following year (New England Conservatory). Clearly not wanting for “gray matter” Mr. Albright brings a vibrant spirit and limitless range to his performances. He possesses the kind of intellect that doesn’t stop growing and will no doubt continue to surprise as his career progresses. I’ll be looking forward to following him.

The second half consisted of the twelve Chopin Etudes, Op. 25, continuing to exploit this pianist’s nearly effortless technique while reflecting sensitivity and imagination. Mr. Albright offered a thumbnail description of each Etude (a nice touch along with the fine program notes), adding a healthy dose of humor. He peppered his comments on the first one (“Aeolian Harp”) with references to “that thingy” the harpist does and drew appreciative laughter, but then played it with sincerity and mastery. He described Chopin’s F Major Etude as resembling galloping horses (though adding, “not quite ‘Gangnam Style'”) and his playing followed through with tremendous spirit and interesting voicing surprises. The A Minor Etude, Op. 25, No. 4 he likened to “target practice” – and anyone who has played it would have to agree – but Mr. Albright is an able marksman and fared well. The E minor (which he likened to a “drunk guy” in the opening section) included some of his most inspired playing, replete with playful pauses, creative accentuations, and interesting voicing (if some vanishing right hand passagework in its central section). The B minor Etude in octaves (No. 10) was too fast and rough for my liking but it was certainly effective in building blizzard-like effects, and the central B Major section was ethereal. The Etude No. 11 (“Winter Wind”), was, as they say, “as good as it gets” – and so was No. 12 (“The Ocean”), which started more softly than one usually hears, a good decision (despite markings) when pacing so many Etudes in a row.

A highlight of the evening was the first encore, Mr. Albright’s own improvisation on notes provided by the audience – in this case, B-flat, C, E-flat and A. He looked unfazed by the first three suggested notes, but the fourth offering was apparently bad news, prompting a grimace and an “oh, boy … we’ll talk after the concert.” The improvisation was nonetheless spectacular, and the spontaneity, even with stylistic similarity to Chopin and Rachmaninoff, kept one on the edge of one’s seat. If the music world is worried about the widening chasm between audience and performer, Mr. Albright is just the answer, especially with this improvisatory element. While I can’t say I agreed with every interpretation by this pianist, especially the occasional roughness that sometimes comes with “going for broke,” the improvisation alone was worth the trip, and the program offered much to love.

A second encore, the Mozart-Volodos Rondo alla Turca (with some Albright additions?) was perhaps a bit “too much of a good thing” but one must allow a mid-twenties artist his exuberance. It seemed that a broken string was adding to the clangor, the Steinway’s own contribution to the Turkish Janissary band. Bravo – and encore!

 

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