Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall | New York Concert Review, Inc.

Margaret Cornils, flute

Sharon Jenson, piano

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

March 26, 2010

A packed Weill Recital Hall greeted flutist Margaret Cornils for this recital, which was sponsored by MidAmerica Productions. The first half was made up of three of the most popular pieces in the flute repertoire: Bach’s B Minor Sonata, Debussy’s Syrinx, and Poulenc’s Sonata. Some of Bach’s flute sonatas were written for flute and basso continuo (a keyboard instrument, whose left hand is doubled by a bass instrument such as a cello, and whose right hand improvises chords stipulated by the composer.) The B Minor Sonata, however, is written for flute and an obbligato (fully written-out) keyboard – without cello. Although cellist Kevin Price blended well with the other fine performers, his part was superfluous.

Due to its quasi-improvisatory character, Syrinx is a different piece for each flutist. Cornils’ rendition was somewhat matter of fact, but nevertheless effective. The Poulenc Sonata was the most satisfying offering on the first half. Her phrasing in the opening of the Cantilena was pure perfection, and the last movement (presto giocoso) displayed an impressive third-octave technique and clear double-tonguing.

The second half of the program was as unknown as the first half was familiar. It opened with Gary Schocker’s Musique Francais, written in 1997. This is a pleasant, skillfully written composition, with several tips of the hat to Poulenc. The third movement is a virtuoso’s tour de force in which Cornils again showed her fine technique. The next piece, Pandean Fable by Clifton Williams, effectively displayed the haunting tone color of the bass flute.

The recital concluded with Paul Agricole Genin’s arrangement of Carnival of Venice. A surprisingly interesting, beautiful and rather lengthy introduction preceded the familiar trite tune. Once the introduction was over, the virtuosic variations which followed exploited all the tricks up the flutist’s sleeve. Cornils was up to the challenge and the audience rewarded her with a standing ovation.

Sharon Jenson was the excellent pianist.

by Barrett Cobb 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

Benefit Concert for Haiti

Xu Hui, piano;

Frank Lévy, piano;

Andy McCullough, tenor

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

February 22, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

Denitsa Laffchieva, clarinet;

Ofer Canetti, cello;

Maria Prinz, piano

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

February 11, 2010

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

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

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

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

by Rorianne Schrade 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

Michail Lifits, piano

Michail Lifits, piano

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

November 23, 2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aglaia Koras, piano

Aglaia Koras, piano

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

November 5, 2009

Pianist Aglaia Koras suffered through a car accident on her way to her concert on November 5th, so it wouldn’t be fair to go into detail about technicality, memory or specifics of her program. It must be said, however, that her sold-out, full-house crowd was happy to hear her, and I felt that she gave some of the most thoughtful, touching playing of Beethoven and Chopin I have heard her play. She was the come-back kid, and she should be proud to have had the courage to put on a program that many others would have canceled.

This is her fifth consecutive season sponsored by Mid-America Productions. On March 1st, 2010, Ms. Koras will perform an All-Chopin 200th Birthday Tribute recital at Weill Recital Hall.

Ms. Koras loves Chopin, and it shows; she received a top prize in the International Chopin Young Pianists Competition, and in recent seasons, she was invited to perform an All-Chopin recital in Mexico City.

Ms. Koras has been a frequent performer at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, but she has also performed in a special program for the United States Ambassadors in Washington, DC; in recitals at the Kennedy Center; in programs in Spain, Greece, and Brazil; on the Smithsonian website; and in concerts sponsored by the Curtis Alumni and Leschetizky Associations.

As a prize-winner, she also won the International American Music Scholarship Association Piano Competition; the International Concert Artists Guild Competition’s “Fine Artistry and Musical Excellence Award”; and first prize at the National Young Musicians Foundation and Koszciusko Foundation Competitions, among others.

Resilience and courage were the words of the day, and her show-must-go-on-mentality was very much appreciated by all in attendance. Her tradition of Chopin also goes on at Weill Hall on March 1st, and I look forward to it.

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

Stanislav Khristenko, Piano

Stanislav Khristenko, piano

October 15, 2009

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY

Stanislav Khristenko, a Ukrainian pianist and first prize winner of the Virginia Waring international piano competition, made his New York recital debut recently in a thoughtful, focused, and ultimately successful concert at Weill Recital Hall. The pianist revealed deep reserves of artistry and professionalism as the evening progressed, saving his most incisive and colorful playing for the program-ender, five short pieces by Prokofiev.

There was an unusual sense of risk in the pianist’s choice of the Shostakovich first sonata, op. 12 to begin the program. As Mr. Khristenko was acclimatizing himself to his instrument and the hall during this sonata, he did not make a thoroughly convincing argument for this work’s value. His talent and technique were in evidence immediately, but he pushed the tempo and over pedaled in scale passages where more clarity would have been appreciated. While I respect the challenge, this composition would be easier to play and hear in a later spot on the program.

In Schubert’s Sonata, d. 958, the pianist again took time to find the right approach to this work, both technically and interpretively. The Steinway at Weill hall is weak in the middle register, and I could hear Mr. Khristenko struggling to produce a singing tone in the first movement without forcing the sound. His voicing was bass heavy initially and his rubato a little stiff until he hit his stride in the final two movements. Most especially, the tarantella was a delight–alive rhythmically, yet relaxed, sounding simultaneously Schubertian and Italianate.

By the second movement of the Schumann C Major Fantasy, which began the second half, Mr. Khristenko was in full control of all his resources and played with a maturity that belied his young age. The performance was organic from beginning to end, and one of the best I have heard of this difficult work. With the briefest of pauses, the pianist then launched headlong into the Prokofiev.

In these five excerpts from ten pieces, op. 12, Mr. Khristenko was completely in his métier. Each selection sparkled like a gem, honed to perfection. These would have been impressive performances from any artist, but they were all the more joyful from a pianist at the outset of his career.

Mr. Khristenko has the poise and intellect of a seasoned performer. Despite the fact that all his programming choices were not ideally suited to his temperament, I applaud his appetite for adventure and discovery.

by David La Marche for New York Concert Review; New York, NY