The nationwide search by the VSO to find the best of the ultra-talented teenage musicians really pays off when you hear them live in concert. Esme Arias-Kim (age 18) led things off with an outstanding rendition of Ernest Chausson’s “Poéme for Violin and Orchestra.” Her passionate and assured playing heightened the lush and lyrical qualities of the piece, making it sing with beauty. Her playing balanced extremely well with the orchestra so that I could always hear her violin, even when the surrounding forces, urged by the emotive Broton, swelled with forte crescendos. Near the end of the piece, Arias-Kim created beguiling, bird-like trills that could have melted some of the ice outside that auditorium.
When was the last time that any of us have ever heard a concerto for saxophone and orchestra? I don’t think that I have ever heard such a piece. So everyone in hall got a super-duper experience, because Diego Chapela-Perez (age 17) delivered a mesmerizing performance of Alexander Glazunov’s “Concerto in e-flat Major for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra.” Chapela-Perez demonstrated a comprehensive command of his instrument, creating a myriad of technically difficult sounds, but making it all look natural and easy peasy. His cadenzas were terrifically executed, and along the way he released several lightning-fast runs that had his fingers flying over all over the keys. Chapela-Perez also produced the smoothest of tones and surged with authority to high notes. He even began one passage with an extremely high note that was perfectly placed – a jaw-dropping level of artistry.
Xinran Shi (age 14) astounded patrons with a brilliant and moving performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Variations on a Theme by Paganini.” Shi’s impeccable technique and musicianship conveyed the many moods and styles of this delightful and incredibly tricky work. She made each of the 24 variations on the distinct and natural – that is, not mannered or mechanical. Whether the delicate minuet of Variation 12, the demonstrative and robust sound of Variation 13, the vocative cantabile of Variation 18, or any of the other variations, Shi conveyed each one superbly, and the result was an immediate, vociferous standing ovation.
It is an unenviable task to follow such exceptional performances by the trio of gifted youngsters, but Brotons and the VSO came up with a terrific piece, Carl Nielsen’s “Symphony No. 3, aka “Sinfonia expansiva.” This symphony by Denmark’s greatest composer began with several forte blasts that grabbed everyone’s attention. They were followed by a driving waltz and passages that surged and subsided before ascending to a powerful ending that wrapped up the first movement. The second began in quiet and contemplative way, but with an insistent undercurrent that later gave way to aggressive horns. There were moments that sounded almost Wagnerian, but things settled down and closed out calmly. The third movement offered some lovely melodies and the fourth reveled in a fugue before concluding the piece with a stately, and uplifting finale.
After the concert during the Q&A, moderated by All Classical Radio’s Warren Black, listeners learned that the young artists put a lot of thought into their performances with an emphasis on “telling a story” through their musicmaking. That kind of approach definitely helped to make the music resonate with listeners, and the connection created between the young performers and much-older patrons was genuine, giving commentators like me a hope for the future – not just the future of music but the future in general.
No comments:
Post a Comment