New York Philharmonic

New York Philharmonic
Alan Gilbert, conductor
Håkan Hardenberger, trumpet
Avery Fisher Hall, New York, NY
June 19, 2010

Hakan Hardenberger

Håkan Hardenberger

For the Philharmonic’s penultimate program, Alan Gilbert chose Mozart, Wagner, and the New York premiere of Aerial (1998-99) by HK Gruber.

Mozart’s “Little” G minor Symphony was crisp, precise, and finely etched. The fast movements were moderately paced but lively, the Andante sang, yet the overall impression was cool and reserved; the drama and the emotional intensity seemed underplayed, the contrasts muted.

Heinz Karl Gruber, born in 1943 in Austria, studied various instruments and composition at the Vienna Music Academy after having been a member of the Vienna Choir Boys for four years. New Yorkers heard him some years ago at the “Berlin Lights Festival,” when he performed cabaret songs by Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler as “chansonniere.” A prolific composer of vocal and instrumental music in many genres and contemporary styles, he wrote Aerial on commission from the BBC for the London Promenade Concerts. It is the first of three works composed for Hakan Hardenberger, the Philharmonic’s soloist at this concert. A spectacular trumpet player, he switched between muted and unmuted trumpet, piccolo trumpet and cow’s horn with dizzying frequency, producing an amazing variety of sounds, and easily competing with a large orchestra, which, after a hazy beginning, gradually built up to a jazzy, uninhibited dance. The music is supposed to evoke a vision of a barren earth-landscape seen from outer space, an imaginative but literally and figuratively “far-out” notion.

Both Wagner‘s personal and creative life were marked by controversy and turbulence, so it may be worth noting that both works on this program – the Siegfried Idyll and the Prelude and Liebestod from “Tristan und Isolde” – were inspired by significant – and notorious – relationships. The Idyll was written in 1870 as a birthday present for his wife Cosima, and also to celebrate their wedding shortly before (following a seven-year liaison while both had other spouses), and the birth of their youngest child, Siegfried, in 1869 (they had three children before they married and none afterwards.)

Wagner wrote his opera “Tristan und Isolde” in 1858-59 while living in exile in Switzerland with his first wife. In dire financial straits, they were supported by Otto Wesendonk, a wealthy admirer; Wagner repaid his generosity by engaging in a passionate relationship with his wife, Mathilde, remembered today mainly for having written the texts of the so-called “Wesendonk Songs,” five steamy poems which Wagner set to properly lush music as an “exercise” for Tristan.

The Idyll was premiered by 15 musicians at the Wagners’ house as a birthday serenade; using mostly single winds and no percussion, it is his only lightly scored composition. (The Philharmonic’s performance was almost too intimate and so subdued that some parts were barely audible.) The Tristan excerpts, in contrast, with a full complement of brass and percussion, are among his most luxurious works. The Liebestod is also one of his most famous soprano arias; Wagner made an orchestral version so that it could be performed in concert. He succeeded in recreating its melodic richness, harmonic elusiveness and textural density, but some lovers of the opera still find it hard to accept Isolde’s death without Isolde.

One of Alan Gilbert’s most admirable strengths is his ability to create transparency and to bring out important voices without seeming to suppress the rest. This showed most impressively in the “Tristan” excerpts. Gilbert preserved the lush sonority and sensuousness, the kaleidoscopic color, the undulating texture, but the lines were so carefully balanced that every melodic strand and every harmonic twist stood out.

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by Edith Eisler  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Live from the MET: Simone Boccanegra

Live from the MET : “Simone Boccanegra”
James Levine, conductor
Placido Domingo, baritone, as Simone Boccanegra 
Adrianne Pieczonka, soprano, as Amelia
Marcello Giordani, tenor, as Gabriele Adorno  
James Morris, bass-baritone, as Jacopo Fiesco
Metropolitan Opera, New York, NY
PBS Telecast
June 20, 2010

Placido Domingo - Photo Credit Brent Ness -

All New York’s music lovers, especially those with difficulties getting around, owe a debt of gratitude to Channel 13 for its “Live from Lincoln Center” series: these telecasts are the closest they can get to the concerts and operas they love. The latest “Live from the MET” telecast, taped in February and broadcast on June 20th, presented the new production of Verdi’s “Simone Boccanegra” with Placido Domingo making his debut as a baritone in the title role. Audience expectations ran high, though Domingo has often mentioned that his vocal roots are in the middle register and blossomed into the upper one later. Indeed his voice has always had a remarkably warm, baritonal quality, and, since voices tend to darken with age, he is perhaps merely encouraging a natural vocal development. Nevertheless, after a lifetime as one of the world’s most beloved tenors, taking such a drastic step requires extraordinary courage, and its stunning success makes it an extraordinary achievement.   

Domingo’s decision to undertake his first foray into new territory in this vocally and emotionally challenging, complex role was daring but understandable. As Boccanegra, he has moved from portraying an impulsive, young, romantic tenor (like Gabriele Adorno in “Boccanegra”) to a historical character of his own age and maturity. The real Boccanegra was a famous pirate who was twice elected Doge of Genoa; in the opera, he grows from a frustrated lover determined to prove himself a worthy suitor, to an enlightened statesman determined to bring peace and justice to his people.  

Adrianne Pieczonka, Placido Domingo and Marcello Giordani - Photo Credit Brent Ness

Verdi wrote “Boccanegra” in 1857; it was a failure: audiences found Piave’s libretto confusing, and the long recitatives boring. In 1881, Verdi revised it, like many of his operas; with a lot of new music and a new text by Boito, it was a resounding success, though the libretto still had weaknesses: the characters’ actions and reactions remained baffling and unbelievable, and events predating the drama were sketched so cursorily that audiences cannot possibly grasp them. 

  

The opera takes place in 14th-century Genoa against a background of convoluted political and personal conflicts that generate misunderstandings, belated revelations and eventual tragedy. But Verdi was less interested in affairs of state than affairs of the heart, and dramatized the characters’ relationships with wonderful duets – not only between soprano and tenor in the obligatory love-duets, but also between basses and baritones in confrontations and reconciliations.  

 This is a dark opera, dramatically, visually and musically. After an orchestral prelude, played primarily by the lowest strings and winds, the curtain rises on two basses hatching a plot at night. Fiesco, the leading bass, enters, lamenting his daughter’s death. Then Boccanegra, her lover and the father of their illegitimate child, appears; Fiesco hates him, and, in a passionate duet, rebuffs his plea to resolve their enmity. Fast forward 25 years. Boccanegra discovers his long-lost daughter, Amelia; they rejoice, but he inexplicably insists on keeping their relationship secret; soon after, he learns that she loves Adorno, his political enemy. The central scene is set in the Council Chamber. The Doge is trying to persuade the fractious nobles and plebeians to make peace with each other and with Venice; when a riot breaks out in the street, he quells it by sheer force of personality. Meanwhile, Paolo, a vengeful courtier, pours poison into Boccanegra’s water-jug, initiating what must be one of the longest operatic death-scenes: after staggering around (and frequently falling) while singing incredibly difficult music, Boccanegra finally makes peace with Fiesco in another great duet.  

The production, conducted by James Levine, is most impressive—visually and musically: the scenery is simple and evocative, the orchestra is splendid as usual, though sometimes too subdued when accompanying the singers; the cast is strong. Verdi did not make things easy for the singers: several start off with a big, demanding aria, requiring some warming up. Adrianne Pieczonka is a beautiful but vocally uneven Amelia; James Morris, in excellent voice, is a majestic Fiesco, Stefan Gaertner a baleful Paolo. Marcello Giordani’s Adorno is heroic in more ways than one: it must take courage to share the stage with the singer who owned your role, yet he seemed inspired rather than intimidated. But it was Domingo who, in the best sense, dominated the stage. He inhabited his part completely, radiating a natural authority that seemed to make everyone more confident and secure. Though his top notes are understandably superior to his low ones, his voice is as focused, expressive and intense as ever. Rarely has there been a more triumphant debut.  

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by Edith Eisler  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Long Island Philharmonic

David Stewart Wiley, conductor
Joseph Kalichstein, piano
Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, New York
June 19, 2010
Long Island Philharmonic

Long Island Philharmonic

The Long Island Philharmonic has had four Music Directors since its founding in 1979, but none of them has been as effective at communicating intimate, nuanced music with the audience as David Stewart Wiley. Its Music Director for almost ten years, Mr. Wiley enjoys speaking to the audience before many of the pieces the orchestra performs, and those in attendance clearly enjoy it, benefitting from musical examples that accompany that talk because they get a preview—much like a movie trailer—and know what details to listen for. And the Long Island audience needs this added familiarity more than in a major city, where a Mozart symphony isn’t exactly a foreign affair.

Before the performance of Mozart’s Symphony No. 39, Wiley interestingly noted that the first movement may be the first time the waltz (opposed to the Minuet) was incorporated into a symphony. He also rightly mentions the countryside, folk aspect to the symphony as a whole. And that inspires an analogy: Mozart brings the countryside to the symphony, and the Long Island Philharmonic brings the symphony to the countryside, enriching the musical experiences of thousands of Long Islanders, who do not have to leave the suburbs in order to hear great music—or great music-making. Perhaps—quite fittingly—the suburbs of Long Island are the perfect place to hear intimate music.

The performance of the 39th Symphony was indeed given a polished, sparkling and elegant account. The sound of the orchestra is in terrific shape, with special mention going to the solo clarinet and the French Horns for handling difficult moments with effortlessness and beauty. In Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto, excellent pianist Joseph Kalichstein, who often modestly collaborated like he was one of many solo instruments within the orchestra rather than the main soloist, nonetheless gave the kind of briskly-paced performances—in the outer movements—that didn’t always mesh with the ensemble behind him. Still, it was impressively played on both technical and musical fronts, with the slow movement the undeniable highlight, as its darkly solemn and sublime moments were performed with tremendous conviction.

In Bartok’s Romanian Dances, which opened the program, the clarinet solos were playfully and endearingly shaped. The Piccolo solo was played with great sensitivity, creating the character of a wandering, lost soul. Wiley set the mood before each dance and achieved deeply committed performances from the players. The first violin section played with unity of movement—often using their bows fully, from the lower part of the bow (the ‘frog’) to the very tip, which can be a rarity for orchestras.

The intimate musical repertory the Long Island Philharmonic explores is sorely needed, as many orchestras concentrate on the more ostentatiously grand symphonic music and stay away from the more delicate gems. Yet Long Island audiences appreciate the nuances of this delightful music because David Stewart Wiley allows his audiences to savor it all—during the performance, but also before it.

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

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY)

Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY)
Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings
Music by Eric Whitacre
Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
June 15, 2010
Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings

Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings

 
 

At the New York premiere of the musical “Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings” by Eric Whitacre and David Norona, and presented by Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY), a chorus of 425 people conducted by Whitacre gathered on stage to replace the typical staging and action.  Aged 14 to 73-years-old, the chorus produced glorious, powerful sounds, and they were well-blended, singing with excellent intonation and diction. They stood proudly the entire 80 minutes without intermission—which was astounding since they didn’t sing all that much—and the full-house audience also stood proudly after the performance, cheering loudly. To accompany the singers, there were synthesizers, the two talented Taiko drummers from the On Ensemble, and the fabulous cellist Fang Fang Xu.

The music of “Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings” is comprised of some familiar melodies—two moments were seemingly inspired by Valjean’s “Bring Him Home” from “Les Miserables” and the eerie part of “Johanna” from “Sweeney Todd”—ritualistic, electrifying  percussion (although the wind chimes were overused), and some fascinating use of harmony. The choral and vocal ensemble-writing was fairly straight-forward, except that there was very skilled use of counterpoint in an Act II trio and in an Act I Quintet, which brought to mind the intricacies of Bizet’s Quintet in Act II of “Carmen”. The acting, obviously limited to the space in front of the microphones, was nevertheless very convincing. And the solo singing, particularly that of soprano Hila Plitmann, was stellar.

This Edward Esch story, which contains scenes of martial arts combat, is timely; the remake of the Karate Kid is doing well at the box office, and the second Kung Fu Panda film is due next summer—sure to be another hit. Seeing this tease of a production did make me dream about what a fully staged production would be like. The characters and their conversational interplay were interesting, and seeing them move on stage with that playful dialogue—as well as watching the combat scenes—would be a lot of fun. The narration here was crucial, but sometimes it was too obvious, such as: “(they) embrace”, followed by a hug. Seeing a concert version of “Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings” was about as frustrating as seeing a concert version of “West Side Story”, but it was a prelude to a potentially fantastic evening at the theater.

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

The Ansonia Trio

The Ansonia Trio
Angelia Cho, violin
Laura Metcalf,  cello
Andrea Lam, piano
Bechstein Artist Series at Bechstein Piano, New York, NY
June 11, 2010

 

Ansonia Trio

Ansonia Trio

A relative newcomer to the chamber music scene, the Ansonia Trio was formed in 2009, and won the Grand Prize of the Daniel Rutenberg Chamber Music Competition the same year. The Trio made its New York debut at the New York House Concert series, has performed in various venues in and around New York, and participated in the Prussia Cove Festival in England.

Violinist Agelia Cho received her Bachelor of Music degree at the Curtis institute under the late Jascha Brodsky and Ida Kavafian, and her Master’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music under Donald Weilerstein. She has won wide recognition as soloist, recitalist and chamber musician.

Cellist Laura Metcalf received her Master of Music degree at the Manes College of Music, studying with Timothy Eddy, and, upon graduation, was honored with the James E. Hughes award for excellence in performance. In addition to being active as soloist and teacher, she is a member of various chamber groups, such as the Tarab Cello Ensemble, a group of eight cellists with whom she has performed and recorded. She is assistant principal of the Chamber Orchestra of New York.

Australian pianist Andrea Lam studied with Boris Berman at the Yale School of Music, where she won the Woolsey Hall Competition, and with Arkady Aronov at the Manhattan School of Music, where she won the Roy M. Rubinstein Award. She was a semi-finalist in the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition, and has performed and recorded concertos with Australian orchestras and chamber music with the Takacs Quartet. She was featured at the 1999 and 2000 Sidney Festivals, playing for audiences of 180,000.

The Ansonia players say their goal is to “present programs that engage and inspire modern audiences.” The June 11 concert – their final one of this season – featured two romantic repertory favorites, Mendelssohn’s D-minor Trio Op. 49, and Brahms’ C-major Trio Op. 87, and two of Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.”

The Trio is clearly a fine, very promising group; only a year after its formation, the strings’ intonation is excellent, the players’ phrasing, dynamics and expression are unanimous, their ensemble and rapport – complete with approving looks and smiles – are close; they obviously enjoy their companionship and collaboration.

 
Technically, they were more than equal to the music’s demands, negotiating Mendelssohn’s brilliant writing with easy facility; indeed, the Scherzo, though not too fast for their fleet fingers, was too fast for human ears. They projected the work’s ardent romanticism without excess or sentimentality, capturing the dark, ominous tension of its corner movements and the calm serenity of the second. The Brahms was carefully paced, austere but expressive; the first movement’s tempo changes were smooth and organic. They made Piazzolla’s idiom sound as natural as their native language.

 
The concert’s only flaw was the balance. The intimate Bechstein auditorium is just right for chamber music, but the piano, a vintage concert grand, is much too big and loud for the space and the music. When kept wide open, even the most careful, well-intentioned pianist cannot help sometimes overpowering the strings. The late great cellist and teacher Felix Salmon, exhorting the string players in his student groups, used to say: “Just look at its size!”

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by Edith Eisler  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

New York Philharmonic

New York Philharmonic
Alan Gilbert, conductor
Lisa Batiashvili, violin
Avery Fisher Hall, New York, NY
June 12, 2010
Alan Gilbert

Alan Gilbert

This concert was the first of three to be conducted by Alan Gilbert this month to conclude his opening season as Music Director of the New York Philharmonic. His adventurous, imaginative programming has brought us more contemporary works than have been heard here for many years. One of the most prominently featured composers was Magnus Lindberg (b. 1958) from Finland, whom Gilbert installed as the Philharmonic’s Composer-in-Residence. Indeed, the current season opened with one of Lindberg’s works, EXPO, and this program began with the Philharmonic premiere of another, Arena for Orchestra. Commissioned to write the required test work for the first Sibelius Conductors’ Competition in 1995, Lindberg deliberately made it an obstacle course for the conductor, with frequent tempo and meter changes and drastic textural and dynamic contrasts. Scored for an enormous orchestra whose percussion section uses every known and some unknown instruments, it begins in a sonic haze, but soon erupts into brass fanfares; occasionally something resembling a melody tries to emerge, but is immediately driven away by the next outburst of brass and percussion. Gilbert has performed the work many times and conducted it with confidence and authority; the Philharmonic negotiated all the hurdles with admirable aplomb. The composer was present to share the applause.

The program’s soloist was the phenomenal young Georgian violinist, Lisa Batiashvili, in the Sibelius Concerto. It has become her signature piece since, aged 16, she won second prize as the youngest-ever competitor at the 1995 Sibelius Competition. After that, her career on stage and recording became meteoric, and no wonder. She has the flair of a virtuoso without the flourishes and mannerisms. Her technique is dazzling, but she never calls attention to it, making the most hair-raising fireworks seem as easy as breathing, blithely taking risks with supreme confidence. Her tone, enhanced by a famous Stradivarius violin, is gorgeous, capable of infinite variations of color, nuance and intensity. Best of all, her playing is expressive but never exaggerated or fussy, and her stage presence, too, is simple and natural. From the Concerto’s icy, misty beginning, the stormy climaxes built up organically; the slow movement was all inward tenderness, the Finale all driving, rocking energy. 

Lisa Batiashvili

Lisa Batiashvili

The program ended with Brahms’ Second Symphony in a lovely performance that balanced dignity with exuberance, warmth with austerity, repose with excitement. The orchestra played splendidly.  

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by Edith Eisler  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Chopin and Schumann 200th Anniversary Celebration

Chopin and Schumann 200th Anniversary Celebration
Musicians from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University
Min Kwon, Director
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
May 27, 2010

Chopin and Schumann 200th Anniversary Celebration

There has certainly been no shortage of Chopin and Schumann celebrations this year, but a gala concert by Min Kwon and musicians from the Mason Gross School of the Arts showed that there is always room for another. Sixteen musicians of various ages (both faculty and students) assembled in a large and varied recital of well-loved works by the two masters. The program’s first half was a bit long (well over an hour), but the programming was a delight (alternating the two composers instead of placing them in large blocs), and the dovetailed entries and exits kept the flow.

The first offering was Chopin’s Scherzo in B minor, played by undergraduate Lachlan Glen. A bold opening by a young pianist with promise, the piece enjoyed increased confidence and accuracy as it proceeded. Recent freshman Michelle Rofrano followed with Chopin’s Waltzes in F Minor, Op. 70, No. 2 and C-sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2. Graceful and earnest, her readings caught much of the works’ beauties. Moving to Schumann songs, we heard “Er Ist’s” (“It is Spring”) and “Stille Tränen” (“Silent Tears”) sung by soprano Catherine Spadora Stebbins with Barbara González-Palmer at the piano.  An M.M. candidate, Ms. Stebbins has an appealing voice and projected the contrasting moods well.

Returning to the piano, the program continued with Chopin’s Etudes, the C Major, Op. 10, No. 1 and C Minor, Op. 10, No. 12 (“Revolutionary”) played by doctoral student Zin Bang. These were unusually solid and confident performances, showing admirable technical control. When doctoral student Kelly Yu-Chieh Lin followed with Chopin’s Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1, one was ready for something meditative and received just that. Ms. Lin sustained her melodic lines beautifully in the opening’s profound simplicity and over surging left hand octaves. Having once had the pleasure of reviewing doctoral student, Alexander Beridze, I was eagerly anticipating his Chopin Ballade in F Major (the Ballade dedicated to Schumann). At first, the contrasts between the lyrical and tempestuous sections seemed a bit restrained; upon reflection, though, the avoidance of what some pianists turn into excess would likely have pleased its most elegant composer. Mr. Beridze did not disappoint. The infamous coda lacked nothing in speed and excitement.

A highlight of the evening was the playing of doctoral student Junko Ichikawa, who performed Chopin’s Mazurka in A-flat Major, Op. 24, No. 3 and Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 42 with ease and maturity. Especially impressive was her imaginative use of contrasting articulations and pedaling to enliven the various restatements.

More Schumann songs followed, “Der Nussbaum” (“The Nut Tree”) and “Widmung” (“Dedication”) both from the composer’s Op. 25. Hong Kyung Kim was the expressive soprano with Ms. González-Palmer providing important support. Two Chopin Mazurkas, with melodies that Schumann called “cannons hidden in fields of flowers” came next. The A-flat major and F-sharp minor Mazurkas from Op. 59, were given thoughtful, understated interpretations by doctoral student DiYi Tang.  Finishing the half was Miao Hou (soon to enter the DMA program at Mason Gross) in a rousing, dynamic performance of Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor.

The second half consummated the celebration with some of the more seasoned performers and faculty, including violinists Todd Phillips and Leo Ching-Hung Lo, violist Audrey Ching-Yuan Chen, cellist Jonathan Spitz, and pianist Min Kwon in Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat. Ms. Kwon, who had supervised and greeted earlier that evening, proved to be the tireless center of a vibrant performance. Some highlights included singing cello melodies in the first movement and a Scherzo that absolutely pulsated with life.  Happy 200th indeed!

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

An Evening of American Song: “And If the Song Be Worth a Smile”

An Evening of American Song:
“And If the Song Be Worth a Smile”
Lisa Delan, soprano
Kristin Pankonin, piano
Matt Haimovitz, cello
The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center
May 21, 2010, New York, NY

This concert of songs by six living American composers was presented by PentaTone Classics to celebrate its release of Lisa Delan’s recording of the program, also entitled “And if the Song be Worth a Smile.” Three of the composers – Gordon Getty, David Garner, and Luna Pearl Woolf – were present; Woolf’s cycle was written for Ms. Delan and her pianist, Kristin Pankonin, whose empathetic support contributed greatly to the evening’s success.

Lisa Delan

Lisa Delan

Of the Three Folk Songs arranged by Jake Heggie (b. 1961), two were plaintive, one was cheeky and chattering. The accompaniments underlined the melodies’ mood and character, but were often too elaborate. “Cabaret Songs” by William Bolcom (b. 1938), on texts by Arnold Weinstein, evoked sensuousness, inebriation, and yearning.

“Odas de Todo Mundo” (“Odes for Everyone”) by Luna Pearl Woolf (1973), to poems by Pablo Neruda and sung in Spanish, were commissioned by Ms. Delan. The music mirrored the mercurial changes of the poetry – Latin dance rhythms, descriptions of nature and the human condition – and ended in a blaze of exuberance. The performers were joined by the composer’s husband, cellist Matt Haimovitz, renowned for his masterful playing and his multi-faceted career. Once a famously talented prodigy, he is now a versatile, communicative artist; in a demanding part tailored to his virtuosity and beautiful tone, he added intense, compelling power to the performance.

Three Cabaret Songs by Corigliano (b. 1938) to poems by Mark Adamo poked fun at various aspects of the musical experience, punning on the atonalists’ tone-rows, parodying the latest electronic recording device, lampooning the transformation of the friendly neighborhood record store into an impersonal coffee-bar. The songs sounded less “cabaret”-influenced than Bolcom’s, but, like much of Corigliano’s music, bore traces of many other styles. Though Mss. Delan and Pankonin had performed the songs separately, this was the complete set’s premiere.

Getty (b. 1933) wrote his own poetry for his three-song cycle, “Poor Peter:” a pensive love song, a rollicking dance with surprising, quirky rhythms, and a mournful, pleading ballad sung by an old beggar (recalling the blind “Harpist” of Goethe and Schubert). Words and music mimicked the style of Merrie Olde England, with words like “easterly” and “southerly.” The program’s title is taken from the third song.

The seven-song cycle “Phenomenal Woman” by Garner (1954) incorporated jazz, blues, rock and cabaret styles. The proudly feminist poems by Maya Angelou ranged from defiance, protest, and tongue-in-cheek self-promotion to religious fervor and resignation.

Lisa Delan has made these songs entirely her own, textually and musically. Her voice encompasses a wide range and she can color and inflect it for mood and expression. Her excellent diction was especially important in the humorous songs. She used “light” amplification to reflect the sound back to the performers; this made it difficult to fully judge the quality of her voice, and probably caused some shrillness in the topmost register and some imbalance with the instruments. She was most persuasive in the slow, lyrical, pensive songs; the fast, skittish ones seemed least suited to her voice and stage presence.

The audience’s warm response proved that all the songs were worth a smile, so Mr. Haimovitz returned for an encore: Ms. Woolf’s trio arrangement of Getty’s “The Going from a World We Know.”

Makers, dealers, and experts in violins, violas, 'cellos, and their bows

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by Edith Eisler  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

New York Concert Artists, Winners’ Evening II

New York Concert Artists Winners’ Evening II
Yoojin Oh, piano;
Raymond H. T. Wong, piano;
Yumi Sato, piano;
Anastasia Dedik, piano

Manhattan Chamber Orchestra
Eduard Zilberkant, conductor
Good Shepherd Church, New York, NY
May 15, 2010

Word must be spreading about the musical feasts presented by New York Concert Artists & Associates, as their audiences seem to be growing from concert to concert. Under the artistic direction of Klara Min, the musical fare seems to be growing in scope as well. A recent evening featuring four big piano concerti included a work that is rarely performed live, the Vaughan Williams Piano Concerto in C (1926, first two movements, and finished in 1931). Having heard the excellent new recording of it played by Ashley Wass (also recorded twice by Howard Shelley), I had recently been wondering why the piece is so overlooked; granted, it is fiercely difficult and sprawling, with a quiet ending that elicits a hush rather than an explosive ovation, but its treasures are many. Excellent pianist Yoojin Oh found these treasures, and they were stunning. Ravelian swirls of color, expressive cadenzas, bold percussive statements, and a well-controlled fugue all sounded as if the pianist had performed this piece for years (though she was using the score). Ms. Oh has considerable credentials, so hopefully she will parlay them into further performances of this unfairly neglected gem. I for one would want to hear it again.

Many in the audience seemed at least as excited to hear what followed, Rachmaninoff’s much beloved Piano Concerto No. 2 played by Raymond H. T. Wong. A student at the Manhattan School of Music, Mr. Wong gave his New York debut in 2009 and has a good number of awards, performances, and scholarships to his credit. His playing showed considerable youthful fire and moments of real artistry. Occasionally his impulsiveness got the better of him, and the second movement could have felt freer, but a piece with such a rich performance history presents a very high bar. All in all, it was a commendable performance that brought Mr. Wong’s very enthusiastic audience to its feet.

After intermission, came more Rachmaninoff: this time, his Piano Concerto No. 1 played by Yumi Sato. Ms. Sato, currently studying in Europe, has also won numerous prizes, and understandably so. She gave a highly polished performance. Precision, clarity, and thoughtful pacing characterized her playing. Occasionally one wanted less of a sense of “dispatch” and perhaps more breathing at phrase ends, but adrenaline runs high on such occasions. In any case, her fingers never failed her. Her collaboration with the orchestra was also to be admired.

The evening’s finale was Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 played by Anastasia Dedik, the winner of NYCA’s first International Concerto Competition (2010). Ms. Dedik’s biography lists numerous concerts and competition prizes, including the one that resulted in this performance. She delivered a strong, muscular account of the work, nearly flawless in the octaves and difficult passages. Occasionally her sound may have been a shade too big, such as where she outweighed the cello a bit (second movement), but she is clearly ready to take this piece “on the road.” The last movement should be a notch slower so the Cossack dance does not become a blur, but all in all it was a rousing finish to a memorable evening. Eduard Zilberkant conducted superbly throughout, his experience as a pianist undoubtedly lending him extra sensitivity to the soloists. The orchestral personnel were not listed; a shame considering some fine individual performances.

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

Continuum: Spotlight on Georgia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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