[Justin Kagan, cellist and coffee roaster extraordinaire, was at the Itzhak Perlman recital Tuesday evening – the following is his exclusive review. – C.N.]
AN INFORMAL “REVIEW” OF ITZHAK PERLMAN RECITAL @ THE SCHNITZ 4-27-2010
Since my esteemed friends and colleagues of the OSO were doing yeoman’s work in Salem (four straight nights of Tchaik 5…no mean feat!) I felt it fair to fill them in on the Tuesday night event at the Schnitz….the cat’s away, the mice…in this case Itzhak Perlman in recital with Rohan de Silva. As I imagine our local music critics will weigh in on this concert so I’ll be brief.
The evening’s offerings were sonatas by Mozart (A Major, K. 526) and Strauss plus a second half of Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne and 6 encore works, all lovingly and engagingly played. While I’ve always been a fan of Perlman’s playing…he “introduced me” to the Stravinsky concerto….I’m usually left with the impression that he has to work to not overwhelm some pieces with his presence. This isn’t really a knock…after all, humility is the clarion call of a great performer…but I would’ve loved to hear more of the passionate, romantic swoop of some great Strauss interpreters of yesteryear . The 65-years-young Perlman still plays the violin effortlessly (and still has one of the most astonishingly nuanced bow arms ever), so all the more surprising to see him somewhat emotionally disengaged. While interpretively succinct, I wished for more Itzhak in the Mozart and Stravinsky.
Frankly the revelation was Mr. de Silva, who I’ve only heard on recordings before last night. He has paired with many great artists over the years, and now I see why…limpid sound, command of the piano and the music, complete bonding with the violinist. For me he stole the show.
The six miniatures were an interesting mix, and more engagingly played. In order…Kreisler-Francoeur Siciliana & Rigaudon; Gluck Melodie; Fiocco Allegro (a standard piece in Suzuki violin repertoire, played like it “should” be; Williams’s Theme from Schindler’s List; a Brahms Hungarian Dance; Bazzini’s fiendish La Ronde des Lutins “Dance of the Goblins”, which still shimmers in Perlman’s mitts.
Also kudos to the Schnitzer stage gang….I’d never seen the recital setup before, and the setting was both acoustically and visually intimate. While I couldn’t hear ALL of the bowing nuances I could at least see them! The attendance was terrific and the audience generous (to the point of light-hearted chastisement by Perlman when there was between-movement applause).
–badbeard–
