Tweet
Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
August 9, 2005 Tuesday
Final Edition; All Editions
Violin virtuoso is flawless with orchestra at Blossom
Wilma Salisbury, Plain Dealer Music Critic
CLASSICAL MUSIC
REVIEW
Cleveland Orchestra
Blossom Festival director Jahja Ling led the Cleveland Orchestra in
an extravaganza of orchestral showpieces Sunday night at Blossom
Music Center.
Armenian violin virtuoso Sergey Khachatryan and principal double bass
Maximilian Dimoff took center stage for lyrical concertos by
Khachaturian and Koussevitzky. Assistant conductor Andrew Grams and
the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra opened the evening with a
preconcert performance featuring works by Schubert and Ravel.
For the grand finale, the student players joined the professional
musicians in Spanish-themed works by Falla and Rimsky-Korsakov. The
three-hour-plus marathon gave the enthusiastic crowd more than its
money~Rs worth.
The high point of the program was the superb performance by
Khachatryan, the 20-year-old sensation who soared to world renown
five years ago when he won first prize in the Sibelius competition in
Helsinki. Last year, he made his impressive Cleveland Orchestra debut
playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto. In May, he took first prize in
the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition in Brussels,
Belgium.
For his Blossom debut, he chose a work that is clearly close to his
heart: the romantic violin concerto by his 20th-century countryman
Khachaturian. Written in 1940, the piece unfolds in rich,
Eastern-tinged melodies that build up to showy passages. The
impassioned allegro integrates a songful cadenza. The andante is
infused with aching sadness that gives way to a folklike theme and
brilliant fireworks in the finale.
The extraordinary violinist penetrated to the soul of the piece with
sweet tone and flawless technique. Completely absorbed in the
emotional content of the music and sensitively supported by Ling and
the orchestra, he seemed unaware of the audience until the end when
he received a huge ovation and finally cracked a smile.
The Koussevitzky concerto also abounds in melody. Lightly scored and
beautifully written for double bass, the work was warmly performed by
Dimoff, who played an elegant 17th-century Italian instrument. The
intimate piece is not well-suited to a spacious outdoor venue,
however, and the soloist was sometimes overpowered by the orchestra.
The full ensemble showed its vigor and color in the circusy overture
to Kabalevsky~Rs opera, ~SColas Breugnon.~T Collaborating with the
student musicians, the players lavished a rainbow of brilliant
sonorities on the Spanish showpieces. Ling set deliberate tempos in
the first two movements of Suite No. 2 from Falla~Rs ~SThe
Three-Cornered Hat,~T then let the exciting rhythms explode in the
final dance. Rimsky-Korsakov~Rs ~SCapriccio espagnol~T also was taken at
a moderate pace, and several principal players excelled in solo
passages.
The student orchestra performed Schubert~Rs Symphony No. 3 with
youthful energy under Grams~R clear baton, then gave a rushed and
inflexible reading of Ravel~Rs ~SLe Tombeau de Couperin.~T Although the
quality of the playing was uneven, the young musicians benefited from
the opportunity to make music in the Blossom pavilion and to perform
with their Cleveland Orchestra role models.
August 9, 2005 Tuesday
Final Edition; All Editions
Violin virtuoso is flawless with orchestra at Blossom
Wilma Salisbury, Plain Dealer Music Critic
CLASSICAL MUSIC
REVIEW
Cleveland Orchestra
Blossom Festival director Jahja Ling led the Cleveland Orchestra in
an extravaganza of orchestral showpieces Sunday night at Blossom
Music Center.
Armenian violin virtuoso Sergey Khachatryan and principal double bass
Maximilian Dimoff took center stage for lyrical concertos by
Khachaturian and Koussevitzky. Assistant conductor Andrew Grams and
the Kent/Blossom Chamber Orchestra opened the evening with a
preconcert performance featuring works by Schubert and Ravel.
For the grand finale, the student players joined the professional
musicians in Spanish-themed works by Falla and Rimsky-Korsakov. The
three-hour-plus marathon gave the enthusiastic crowd more than its
money~Rs worth.
The high point of the program was the superb performance by
Khachatryan, the 20-year-old sensation who soared to world renown
five years ago when he won first prize in the Sibelius competition in
Helsinki. Last year, he made his impressive Cleveland Orchestra debut
playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto. In May, he took first prize in
the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition in Brussels,
Belgium.
For his Blossom debut, he chose a work that is clearly close to his
heart: the romantic violin concerto by his 20th-century countryman
Khachaturian. Written in 1940, the piece unfolds in rich,
Eastern-tinged melodies that build up to showy passages. The
impassioned allegro integrates a songful cadenza. The andante is
infused with aching sadness that gives way to a folklike theme and
brilliant fireworks in the finale.
The extraordinary violinist penetrated to the soul of the piece with
sweet tone and flawless technique. Completely absorbed in the
emotional content of the music and sensitively supported by Ling and
the orchestra, he seemed unaware of the audience until the end when
he received a huge ovation and finally cracked a smile.
The Koussevitzky concerto also abounds in melody. Lightly scored and
beautifully written for double bass, the work was warmly performed by
Dimoff, who played an elegant 17th-century Italian instrument. The
intimate piece is not well-suited to a spacious outdoor venue,
however, and the soloist was sometimes overpowered by the orchestra.
The full ensemble showed its vigor and color in the circusy overture
to Kabalevsky~Rs opera, ~SColas Breugnon.~T Collaborating with the
student musicians, the players lavished a rainbow of brilliant
sonorities on the Spanish showpieces. Ling set deliberate tempos in
the first two movements of Suite No. 2 from Falla~Rs ~SThe
Three-Cornered Hat,~T then let the exciting rhythms explode in the
final dance. Rimsky-Korsakov~Rs ~SCapriccio espagnol~T also was taken at
a moderate pace, and several principal players excelled in solo
passages.
The student orchestra performed Schubert~Rs Symphony No. 3 with
youthful energy under Grams~R clear baton, then gave a rushed and
inflexible reading of Ravel~Rs ~SLe Tombeau de Couperin.~T Although the
quality of the playing was uneven, the young musicians benefited from
the opportunity to make music in the Blossom pavilion and to perform
with their Cleveland Orchestra role models.