Anthony Aibel | New York Concert Review, Inc.

Junior Chamber Music

Junior Chamber Music
Presented by Distinguished Concerts International -New York, DCINY
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
April 11, 2010

From the west side of the United States to the west side of Manhattan, an impressive bunch of students from southern California, all part of an organization called Junior Chamber Music –founded and directed by Susan Boettger—performed extremely well-prepared, well-chosen music at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. The concert was presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York.

One of the most impressive performances on the program was Schumann’s Piano Quintet (the last two movements)—not just for its ensemble excellence and finesse in notoriously tricky passages and transitions, but for all its musical insights. Individually, the students are quite young and inexperienced with this music—violinists Lucas Stratmann and Hao Zhao are middle school-aged, Iona Batchelder is a 6th grade cellist, and violist Amanda Lin and pianist Jessie Wang are high school freshman— but collectively, they had a rare unity of interpretation and sounded more professional than they probably knew they were capable. In the Scherzo, the many up-and-down scales—which can often sound tedious in student performances, were exquisitely shaped, and the second theme was tender, showing a mature contrast in tone quality and expression.

The Mendelssohn piano trios received plenty of exposure on the program—G. Theory and the Vision and NYC trios performed movements admirably—with pianist Weston Mizumoto a standout for his excellent finger work in the D minor’s technically demanding first movement. Two other favorites of the repertoire, the Brahms Opus 8 and the Arensky were also excellent choices and given passionate performances by the Brahms and Angeles Trios. Despite small intonation lapses and some ordinary phrasing, Trio con Lancio’s playing in Martinu’s excellent Sonata for Flute, Violin and Piano was solidly together throughout.

Swing Shift, by Kenji Bunch, was another highlight of the program. I can see why the inventive 4th and 6th movements were selected for this group. Violinist Paya Sarraf, cellist Alec Hon and pianist Primitivo Cervantes reveled in the music’s Rock-Minimalistic beats, and the audience was swinging along with them. Excellent ensemble-playing and some intonation difficulties permeated the CalDuo performance of Duos for Flute and Clarinet by Robert Muczynski, and Jack McFadden-Talbot’s Concern, in its world premiere, was—considering an older, more experienced group at hand— overly simple in its use of rhythm and counterpoint. The mezzo Hannah McDermott is a wonderful talent with a lovely, expressive voice; she was teamed-up with flutist Taylor Weary and pianist Leslie Wu for a very fine performance of three songs from Deepest Desire by Jake Heggie.

The chemistry was palpable between violinist Judith Yu and cellist Allan Hon in the Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A minor (Variation movement); their physical gestures, vibrato, and bow strokes were always matching. They exuded a lush, professionally robust string sound and a finely-tuned sense of pitch. Renee Yang did an excellent job with the technical demands of the piano part, although she needs some more variety in her phrasing and dynamics. The group’s overall performance was engaging and polished, with well-timed transitions of tempo. Junior Chamber Music and all the ensembles on this program should be very proud of what they are accomplishing.

by Anthony Aibel for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Peter Fletcher, guitar

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

March 27, 2010

Peter Fletcher’s loyal followers at Weill Recital Hall were treated to a program of classical guitar music that ran the gamut from Paduana, by Baroque lute music pioneer Esaias Reusner, to the haunting and ethereal Prelude and Ritual from David Leisner’s Four Pieces. Fletcher began the evening with three crowd-pleasing transcriptions: Handel’s Sarabande and Variations, Bach’s Prelude No.1 from Book 1 of The Well Tempered Clavier, and Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring (a Foster transcription).

The highlight of the evening was Fletcher’s clever transcription of Erik Satie’s Sports and Divertissements. This set of fifteen of the twenty ephemeral, witty pieces was originally conceived as a multimedia project for music, with sketches by Charles Martin—of which some illustrations were printed in the program—and narration by Daniel Brondel, who gave an equally witty demonstration of each of Satie’s poetic commentaries. Colin-Maillard (or Blindman’s Bluff) particularly demonstrated the wide range of his personal vocabulary, which is unique in his transcriptions, and the same can be said of his transcriptions of Issac Albeniz’s Sevilla and Leopold Weiss’ Passacaglia.

In the program notes, Fletcher attributes the cumbersome quality of Bach’s Lute Suite in E minor to his lack of lute skills and reminds the audience that the score does not specify lute as the instrument for which it is written. Though Fletcher’s overall interpretation of the suite was very moving, he illustrated the aforementioned technical awkwardness by rushing through the end of the Gigue. He also performed, with some difficulty, his own transcription of Ravel’s Empress of the Pagodas from the Mother Goose Suite, though his arrangement of this and the Pavane of the Sleeping Beauty were strikingly clever. He did, however, give absolutely seamless performances of Villa-Lobos’ Gavotta-Choro and Carlo Domeniconi’s koyunbaba, (Turkish for “sheep-father”), which was particularly impressive due to the re-tuning of his guitar.

Throughout the program, Fletcher created an air of comfort in his musical presentation: his choice to address the audience in between movements, and his relaxed attire transformed the regal Weill Hall into his own living room, where the audience was made to feel very welcome.

by Anthony Aibel for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

International Junior Music Competition

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

March 27, 2010

International Junior Music Competition

A Gala program featuring the winners of the International Junior Music Competition began with Sarasate’s Introduction and Tarantella performed by the young Kanon Kobayashi. Only around ten years old, she plays with great intonation, a robust sound, and a mature, varying vibrato. She is exceptionally musical and exudes a joy for the music she is playing. The Skylark by Balakirev, and Alborada del gracioso by Ravel were performed by 12-year-old pianist Hina Inokuchi. The Balakirev was a perfect choice, as she played with much grace and evocative color; the Ravel, which sounds better as an orchestral showpiece, lacked some of the passion and grandeur it needs.

In Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto finale, we heard a most prodigious girl, Emiri Kobayashi, perform on a tiny, buzzing violin. I was at first skeptical, but we soon learned that she is in fact ripe and ready for this virtuosic warhorse. It was her instrument that wasn’t ready—nor will it ever be—and I’m sure she can’t wait until she grows into a bigger violin. Paganini’s I Palpiti in A Major (Kreisler edition) was performed by eighth-grader Mao Konishi. Her harmonics were exquisite, as was her beautiful sound. She only needs to show a bit more flair and some more joy in her facial expressions to play this kind of showpiece.

Another showpiece, Ravel’s Tzigane, was well-performed by 15-year-old violinist, Issei Kobayashi. He reveled in Ravel’s music, playing with a flair befitting a gypsy. He executed excellent double-stops, pizzicato, octaves and harmonics, and started off with a captivating opening cadenza—sometimes he played a bit too deliberately or rushed—but he was always impressive. 16-year-old pianist, An Negishi, performed Griffes’ The White Peacock from Roman Sketches with a lovely sensitivity—sometimes sounding too cautious, but Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No. 3 was confident and powerful. Only sometimes did the phrasing sound bland in the second theme, and only at the end did the tempo feel too rushed, but her sparkling accents and varied dynamics brought both vigor and sincerity to her performance.In works by Beethoven, Ravel and Pierne, pianist Hinako Ota, who was born in 1994, played with a strong sound and a good technique. There was an engaging playfulness in passages that require it. She needs to work on a wider dynamic range; lighter, more directional phrasing; and better balance between right and left hands. In Wieniawski’s Fantasie Brillante, violinist Kana Egashira performed with exciting energy and clear signs of enjoyment in her playing. Aside from a few tonal and intonation imperfections, her virtuoso passages were fabulous. And she took her time is slower melodic phrases, milking notes with genuine musicality.

by Anthony Aibel for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Traditional and Classical Music of Kazakhstan

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

March 27, 2010

An important concert at Weill Recital Hall fascinatingly revealed some history and updates of Kazakhstan’s instruments, composers and current musicians. And the chronology was presented handsomely, with exploration of the traditional qobyz instrument and Kazakhstan folk music. Aizhan Toleubaeva was the impressionable soloist in traditional dress. The qobyz produces many rich overtones, and it resonated beautifully in the hall. She also played it very musically, holding the instrument like a cello and gently caressing her bow against its strings. Then talented pianist Alia Alhan, who is also the director of the Cultural Center of Kazakhstan in New York, proceeded to play Four Preludes by Kazhgaliev, which had some Ravelian influences, and Kyui by Andosov, a work with many open 4ths and 5ths and reminiscent of Borodin’s music. Alhan played the works with lovely shades of color and pedaling, and she was extremely musical at transitions, with subtle, tasteful rubato.

The world premiere of the Sonata for Violin and Piano by Almas Serkebayev could not have been more successful. The piece is extremely well-written for both instruments, is consistently engaging, and the performances by violinist Raushan Akhmedyarova and pianist Temirzhan Yerzhanov were high-energy and high-accuracy. They blended together flawlessly, with both technical and tonal polish. The work itself has two intense and exciting outer movements with a haunting Lento—reminiscent of Shostakovich—in its middle. I particularly enjoyed the always-fascinating bass lines; the snazzy, syncopated waltz-like sections (also sometimes drawing Shostakovich to mind); and the biting harmonies, which were quite original.

The program concluded with Yerzhanov performing Schumann’s Carnival, Opus 9. A graduate of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the winner of the 1993 Schumann Piano Competition, Yerzhanov moved to the States in 2002. Some of the many pieces like Preambule and Aveu were lacking the requisite grandeur or just felt too hurried. But other pieces like Eusebius and Chopin contained just the right amount of delicate, lovely rubato. Marche des Davidsbundler Contre des Philistins occasionally featured an appealing majesty, and the work concluded with a fierce drive and a sheer display of virtuoso technique.

by Anthony Aibel for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

The Chihara Trio

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

March 25, 2010

The Chihara Trio, formed in 2009 and comprised of Penn State School of Music faculty members Anthony J. Costa on clarinet, violist Timothy Deighton and pianist Enrico Elisi, performed a diverse array of works that were sometimes interrelated in subtle, yet special ways. The clarinet/viola/piano trio repertoire isn’t often heard, so the forming of this ensemble was a great idea. The trio’s inaugural season has included performances throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland, and they made their New York debut with this concert.

The highlight of this program—as I expected—was Mozart’s inspired Trio in E-flat from 1786. Not only is it one of Mozart’s most beautiful works, it was given a splendid performance by the Chihara Trio. Deighton’s technical aplomb and precision during the notoriously tricky Menuetto movement were very impressive.

The group takes its name from Paul Chihara, whose new work Images was also featured on the program. This work is light-hearted and fun—pure and simple. The joy comes from anxiously awaiting musical quotes, which runs the gamut from Brahms to Schoenberg to Ellington. The work should be performed often. The trio made it clear why they dedicated their name to this composer, as they played every note with affection and devotion.

Schumann’s Fairy Tales, Op. 132, composed just three years prior to the composer’s untimely death in an insane asylum, is an uneven work, and the trio’s phrasing and dynamics needed more forward movement and exaggeration to pull off some of the awkward transitions. The last movement, for example, felt a bit sluggish.

The ensemble also performed Ad infinitum, composed by Kye Ryung Park. The notes C, D and E, which are used often and in a myriad of ways, are derived from the first letters of the trio members’ last names. So this was evidently an evening sponsored by the mutual admiration society; Park’s aforementioned subtle dedication to members of the trio, the trio dedicating their name to Chihara, and Chihara himself paying homage to a long list of influential composers.

by Anthony Aibel for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Carlos Perez, guitar

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

March 18, 2010

Guitarist Carlos Perez, a native of Chile, presented a potpourri of composers from Bach to Rodrigo on his recital. He performed entirely from memory. Rodrigo’s Elogio de la Guitarra is wonderfully inventive, and Perez played it with much flavor and zest¸ and with spontaneity of tempo and spirit. Another highlight of the program was the inventive, captivating and technically demanding Tarentella by David Pavlovits. Pavlovitz is a young Hungarian composer and guitarist (one can tell he plays guitar because his work is so idiomatic for the instrument) whose work is inspired by the folklore of South-Eastern Europe. Perez played the piece with both depth of character and technical accomplishment.

In Carulli’s Deux Andantes (No. 1 and 3), Op. 320, Perez showed a wide variety of color, and the pieces were exquisitely rendered. Bach’s Cello Suite No. 4 in E-flat is not really suited to guitar, as one misses the sustained sound of the cello and its dynamic range. Antonio Lauro’s Three Pieces could have used more contrast as well, although the Romanza was perfect in its detail. Four Chilean Folk Songs could not have been played with a more natural affinity for the style. Earlier in the program, I occasionally wished for more definition in the phrasing, but here, Perez brought a lovely shape to all of them, especially to Parabienes—Ya se casaron los novios, where a captivating, gradual decrescendo had me searching for the fading sonorities at the edge of my seat.

Perez has issued ten CDs, two DVDs, and recorded at several European radios, and he has given recitals in over thirty countries in North, Central, and South America as well as Europe. He has played at the Berlin Philarmonie, the Auditorio Nacional in Spain, and England’s Royal Festival Hall among others. We look forward to his next recital here in New York. No doubt, he has much to offer the guitar community.

by Anthony Aibel for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

University of Louisville Grawemeyer Players

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

March 9, 2010

After a fascinating and thorough pre-concert lecture by composer Augusta Read Thomas,
in which she discussed the relevance and mission of classical contemporary concert music and how the University of Louisville School of Music’s Grawemeyer Award— celebrating an important 25th Anniversary—has helped and could help foster this mission, several faculty members from the school assembled to perform music by current and past Grawemeyer Award winners.

Lutoslawski won in 1985 and wrote Grave (Metamorphoses) for cello and piano in 1981. The performers here, cellist Paul York and pianist Krista Wallace-Boaz, performed this first-rate work admirably, with pacing and a good eye for the overall structure. The Little Predicament “A kis csava” (1978) by Gyorgy Kurtag, who won in 2006, is comprised of four short pieces which are outrageously humorous— all the more comical due to its clever scoring of piccolo¸ trombone and guitar. The performers, Kathleen Karr on piccolo, guitarist Stephen Mattingly, and trombonist Brett Shuster played with unity of ensemble—although Shuster, who has a great sound, had some trouble producing the work’s difficult high notes.

Sebastian Currier, 2007 Grawemeyer winner, composed Verge in1997, and there is no shortage of humor and ingenuity in this clever array of nine (almost ten) movements, which have titles like Almost Too Fast, Almost Too Slow, Almost Too Little (only about 10 seconds long), Almost Too Much, etc. The latter is the climactic piece, with a consistently exciting, pulsating drive. The last, Almost Too Calm, is a fitting close despite its slow tempo, because it reaches a sublime, stratospheric peak that is exquisitely beautiful. Pianist Wallace-Boaz, violinist J. Patrick Rafferty, and clarinetist Dallas Tidwell played the work very well, although Rafferty—while very talented—played with a tentative sound this evening.

Peter Lieberson, who won in 2008, had 3 Songs from his Rilke Songs performed by outstanding soprano Edith Davis Tidwell and her fine pianist Naomi Oliphant. There is some Mahlerian influence in the melodic writing and it sometimes uniquely combines with a piano left-hand that is almost jazz-like. Three Caprichos after Goya, written by 2009 winner Brett Dean, are three delightful and well-crafted pieces for solo guitar. It was performed by Stephen Mattingly, who played this work without much imagination or depth of dynamics (his instrument didn’t resonate enough.)

Klangzeichen (2003), the wind quintet with piano composed by this year’s winner, York Holler (born 1944), was given an absolutely polished, dynamic and riveting performance by Karr on flute, oboist Jennifer Potochnic, Tidwell on clarinet, Bruce Heim on horn, and bassoonist Matthew Karr. The work is skillfully written for sustained or chiming piano against fast, double-tonguing wind-playing; the parts often switch roles, with much interchange. The tension and even clashing among the various parts symbolize the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and an old Hebrew melody, which was previously complicated and fragmented, becomes touchingly simple and innocent towards the end, with a tribute to the children of the two lands. Unfortunately, the composers were unavailable to hear their music on this occasion; it was an important evening for live contemporary concert music.

by Anthony Aibel for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

David Bernard, conductor

Sirena Huang, violin

All Saints Church, New York, NY

February 7, 2010

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony

Sirena Huang was the featured soloist, and despite her fifteen years of age, she played Saint-Saens’ Third Violin Concerto like a seasoned pro. Not only did Sirena confidently “nail” the difficult notes in the stratosphere of her instrument and play with a beautifully resonant sound, she winningly captured the essence of this brilliant French score. The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony’s talented Music Director, David Bernard, held things together very well, but he needs more rehearsal time to work on the pitch of the winds, as chords in the second movement were significantly out of tune. This was also true of the chords in the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony—before the recapitulation. Still, there were many things to admire in this performance of the Fifth. For one, there was excellent precision of ensemble in the notoriously tricky first movement, with all its off-beat entrances. One also felt and heard the players’ emotional commitment throughout the symphony. I also really liked Bernard’s emphasis of the first movement’s famous four-note motive when it appears in the horns two or four times slower than normal (as augmentation).

I did find it very unusual that on the third fermata of the first movement opening, in which the first violins sustain a high G, some violinists—on two different occasions—also held the B-natural, which, traditionally, is only a part of the chord’s roll. Tempo-wise, the last movement Allegro was faster than usual—it was refreshing to hear, although the strings sometimes struggled with the pace. The third movement Scherzo, on the other hand, sounded slower than usual; Beethoven’s Allegro indication (not to mention his metronome marking), was ignored in this performance—but many agree that Beethoven hastily added some of his metronome markings in order to accommodate his publisher. Wagner’s Prelude to Act III of “Lohengrin”, which was placed on the second half before the Beethoven, was played with unabashed exuberance—as it should be. Food for thought: as it is so extremely short, I wonder how it would have fit on the first half, immediately prior to the Overture to “Die Fledermaus”, which opened the program. The Strauss—like the Wagner—was performed with an immensely appealing flair.

by Anthony Aibel for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Distinguished Concerts International New York – “Music on Canvas, 57×7”

Distinguished Concerts International New York

“Music on Canvas, 57×7”

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

January 23, 2010

An enjoyable presentation of music and art—and even fashion—entitled: “Music on Canvas, 57×7” took place on January 23rd at… (Actually, the numbers in the title cleverly indicate the concert’s location, so take a guess.) (Yet…you’ve probably already seen the location listed in the above heading, so never mind.) Anyway, while we listened to music sung by the delightful Amy Buckley and Kirsten Allegri, we were afforded the luxury of seeing portraits by talented artist Stef-Albert Bothma. Bothma has a unique style to his paintings—several of them portraits of composers on the program—and they are brilliant in their use of color and chiaroscuro (light-dark contrasts). I recommend that you take a look at his website to peruse his work: www.stefalbertstudios.com. Slides of his paintings lingered tastefully on screen and appropriately back-dropped the music—never flashing at a quick pace to distract us from the performances. After the concert, the audience was treated to a viewing of his originals.

Allegri and Buckley frequently perform individually but also as the duo “Canzone”, and one could instantly recognize the chemistry between them. Mozart’s “Via Resti..” from “Figaro” had more than the requisite comedy and charm, and technically they have the goods as well: “Pur ti miro” from “Poppea” was sung with excellent intonation, a matching vibrato, and a unified eye for peaks of phrase. Kirsten Allegri went solo with both sincerity and elegance in Korngold’s lush and inspired “Lieder des Abschieds”. Her rendering of Bernstein’s “I Am Easily Assimilated” from “Candide” was carefree and sexy, with exceptionally funny accents. Buckley’s solo turn in Rachmaninoff songs displayed her stunningly accurate and beautiful high range.

Bothma’s improvisations on “Carmen” and on Gershwin melodies show promise, but editing might be welcome: they ramble on a bit, and some harmonies and key shifts were awkward. He tends to over-pedal at the piano–obscuring some melodic lines–but his solo octave-playing was impressively virtuoso-like. Bothma’s beautiful artwork wasn’t the only stunning visual aspect to this unique program; the ladies were splendidly and varyingly gowned in several different Alecia Zameska designs that seemed tailor-made for the music at hand. (I never comment on wardrobe, so trust me that this made an impression.) One example was Buckley’s eye-catching dress accompanied by a diamond necklace in a sparkling performance of “Glitter and Be Gay” from “Candide”. Her great comic timing didn’t hurt either.

by Anthony Aibel for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Continuum: Celebrating Ursula Mamlok

Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY

January 13, 2010

Ursula Mamlok Photo Credit Simon Pauly

Continuum’s commemoration of Ursula Mamlok’s 87th birthday spanned the 50 years of her journey as a composer. And this revealing concert showed us that this important composer was steadfastly devoted to her unique style, which for the most part follows serialism. Due to inclement weather and the hardship of travel, Ms. Mamlok was unfortunately unable to attend this concert and tribute. She would have been greatly touched by the numerous reflections and anecdotes of her friends and acquaintances. Though she is an urbanite, her connections to the natural world are a continual thread that permeates her oeuvre. That thread was beautifully interwoven by Continuum’s directors, Cheryl Seltzer and Joel Sachs. From the first note of Ulla Suokko’s poignant, impassioned presentation of the demanding solo pieces “Arabesque for Flute” (1960) and “Variations for Solo Flute” (1961) to the intricate ensemble-piece “Girasol” (1990), the performers and audience remained captivated in the microcosms of sound that enveloped them. Whether the subject matter was a bird or a flower, the performers were able to reach inside the material and extract Mamlok’s experience. Fragility and humor were included in each inward journey.

The “Rhapsody” (1989), cohesively and serenely presented by pianist Cheryl Seltzer, clarinetist Moran Katz, and violist Stephanie Griffin, revealed a world of light hidden within the dark palette of the viola and clarinet. Joel Sachs’ presentation of “Sculpture” (1964) captured the suspended stillness embedded in this work; though the opening was colored in dark, sinister tones rife with anxiety, the work slowly calms to a quiet curiosity. An irregular yet delicate dance came across in the “The Love Song of Two Pigeons” (1991), another world premiere; Mr. Sachs created a stunning web of sound to support the challenging demands. Stephanie Griffin’s quiet energy captured the beauty of “From My Garden” (1983). With the skill and insight acquired over a lifetime of artistry, Mamlok produces a sublime rendering of biological wonders, without cliché.

In “Confluences” (2001), a Continuum commission performed by clarinetist Moran Katz, violinist Renee Jolles, cellist Joanne Lin and pianist Cheryl Seltzer, the poignancy of the music was captured with expression and outstanding clarity. The String Quartet No.2 (1998), with its contrasting themes and colors passed among the performers in continuous conversation, was carefully rendered by Renee Jolles and Airi Yoshioka, violinists; violist Stephanie Griffin and cellist Joanne Lin. This extraordinary program closed with a witty and enjoyable performance by clarinetists Charles Neidich and Ayako Oshima in the world premiere of the latest Ursula Mamlok composition: “Aphorisms II” for Clarinet Duo (2009). Their playful interchanges fashioned a delightful coda to this significant celebration of Ursula Mamlok.

by Anthony Aibel for New York Concert Review; New York, NY