She was the Soloist in Prokofiev VC2 last night. I didn’t know much about her but it was a very memorable night. That piece has always been a bit of an ambivalent experience for me but she and MTT made it a compelling experience. She has a full bodied tone that projects well above the Orchestra.
She encores with some sort of Scottish Variations on Auld Land Synge and she has a charming speaking voice. Unlike my experience in Edinburgh, I could understand every syllable.
The Pathetique that followed was dry eyed Tchaikovsky in I and II, a rousing march greeted by the inevitable applause, but the performance seemed to be pointing towards the last movement, where everyone seemed to dig in and deliver unvarnished anguish. When the strings began the main theme of IV after the slow intro to the movement several people audibly gasped at the beautiful layer of sound. I haven’t heard this work in the Concert Hall for a while but it was the most satisfying concert of it, or perhaps any Tchaikovsky Symphony, that I have experienced.
The concert began with a string Concerto by Stravinsky that was completely unknown to me. I had thought from the promo blurb that it was going to be the familiar Dumbarton Oaks but instead it was a neoclassical bit written for Paul Sacher’s Basle Orchestra. It was good to make the acquaintance and I would like to hear it again, any recommendations for a recording would be appreciated.
At any rate after hearing works in which both Stravinsky and Prokofiev try to turn their backs on their earlier styles, it was great to conclude with some red blooded Tchaikovsky
She encores with some sort of Scottish Variations on Auld Land Synge and she has a charming speaking voice. Unlike my experience in Edinburgh, I could understand every syllable.
The Pathetique that followed was dry eyed Tchaikovsky in I and II, a rousing march greeted by the inevitable applause, but the performance seemed to be pointing towards the last movement, where everyone seemed to dig in and deliver unvarnished anguish. When the strings began the main theme of IV after the slow intro to the movement several people audibly gasped at the beautiful layer of sound. I haven’t heard this work in the Concert Hall for a while but it was the most satisfying concert of it, or perhaps any Tchaikovsky Symphony, that I have experienced.
The concert began with a string Concerto by Stravinsky that was completely unknown to me. I had thought from the promo blurb that it was going to be the familiar Dumbarton Oaks but instead it was a neoclassical bit written for Paul Sacher’s Basle Orchestra. It was good to make the acquaintance and I would like to hear it again, any recommendations for a recording would be appreciated.
At any rate after hearing works in which both Stravinsky and Prokofiev try to turn their backs on their earlier styles, it was great to conclude with some red blooded Tchaikovsky
)
Comment