Martinu, Vondracek are names to remember
Cincinnati Post classical music critic Mary Ellyn Hutton praises the Friday night performances of Paavo and the Cincinnati Symphony and their special guest, rising Czech piano star Lukas Vondracek, in her review, Martinu, Vondracek are names to remember (3/5/05).
Excerpt:
"Martinu's Second Symphony is compact (in length) and packed with color. His aesthetic was beauty and it spilled over in Jarvi's hands, from the mildly exotic minor-key opening to the gleeful sustained unison at the very end. The sweetly lyrical Andante gave way to a merry gallop in the third movement, which included some trumpet-and-drum mustering. The Allegro finale was particularly painterly, with soft scalar effects in piano and harp (both instruments prominent throughout the work) bubbling up like a rivulet at one point among the happy goings-on.
"...Vondracek, 18, is no mere wunderkind, but a remarkably mature artist whose performance of the Mendelssohn tempts the word perfect. Crouching low over the keys, he impressed the music with precision, clarity of focus and a singing tone that bespeak a classic temperament of the first order. Jarvi and the CSO strings (violas, cellos) joined him in a gorgeously effusive Andante and he demonstrated arresting technical proficiency in the Presto finale....
"Jarvi's Brahms was very personal, even courageous, in over-sized Music Hall. The sheer volume of the hall does not treat subtlety well and much of what he was doing -- crafting transparent textures, cultivating intimacy -- did not engage his listeners as it should have. They were simply too far away and too scattered among its 3,516 seats.
"That said, it was a deeply moving performance. Jarvi is a softie who can deliver more than high voltage. He didn't go for high drama here, but tenderness, nostalgia and communication within the orchestra itself that delivered its own emotive message. String sound was warm and carefully delineated, as were the winds and brass, with every detail audible...."
Paavo and the CSO will be recording the Martinu Symphony No. 2, coupled with Dvorak's "New World" Symphony (to be performed in concert next weekend) later this month for an autumn release on Telarc.
This program will air via streaming audio on WGUC-FM Sunday, April 10, 2005 at 7:30 pm ET.
Excerpt:
"Martinu's Second Symphony is compact (in length) and packed with color. His aesthetic was beauty and it spilled over in Jarvi's hands, from the mildly exotic minor-key opening to the gleeful sustained unison at the very end. The sweetly lyrical Andante gave way to a merry gallop in the third movement, which included some trumpet-and-drum mustering. The Allegro finale was particularly painterly, with soft scalar effects in piano and harp (both instruments prominent throughout the work) bubbling up like a rivulet at one point among the happy goings-on.
"...Vondracek, 18, is no mere wunderkind, but a remarkably mature artist whose performance of the Mendelssohn tempts the word perfect. Crouching low over the keys, he impressed the music with precision, clarity of focus and a singing tone that bespeak a classic temperament of the first order. Jarvi and the CSO strings (violas, cellos) joined him in a gorgeously effusive Andante and he demonstrated arresting technical proficiency in the Presto finale....
"Jarvi's Brahms was very personal, even courageous, in over-sized Music Hall. The sheer volume of the hall does not treat subtlety well and much of what he was doing -- crafting transparent textures, cultivating intimacy -- did not engage his listeners as it should have. They were simply too far away and too scattered among its 3,516 seats.
"That said, it was a deeply moving performance. Jarvi is a softie who can deliver more than high voltage. He didn't go for high drama here, but tenderness, nostalgia and communication within the orchestra itself that delivered its own emotive message. String sound was warm and carefully delineated, as were the winds and brass, with every detail audible...."
Paavo and the CSO will be recording the Martinu Symphony No. 2, coupled with Dvorak's "New World" Symphony (to be performed in concert next weekend) later this month for an autumn release on Telarc.
This program will air via streaming audio on WGUC-FM Sunday, April 10, 2005 at 7:30 pm ET.
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