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You are here: Home / Archives for Concerts

Viola and Piano Duo Matthew and Zhenni Li Cohen

Sunday, April 24th, 2022 by Ken Leave a Comment

Matthew and Zhenni 4/23/2022

Matthew Cohen and Zhenni Li-Cohen

It has been several years since I saw pianist Zhenni Li perform. Back then she partnered with violist Matthew Cohen. In New York on April 23rd 2022 she did so again, this time as Zhenni Li-Cohen.

The evening’s concert was a hybrid. In the first half the duo played together, with Ms. Li-Cohen providing piano support for Mr. Cohen’s viola. In the second half, Ms. Li-Cohen went solo.

Viola and Piano

The viola repertoire by Clarke, Tchaikovsky and Brahms encompassed the latter decades of the Romantic period. Played in reverse chronological order, we went from the early 20th century to the heart of the 19th.

I found myself mesmerized by these works. There was a period feel that transcended differences between the composers. At times it felt as if one composer could have written them all.

Was this simply a well-chosen late romantic program, or a perfect musical collaboration? Perhaps it was the grace of Mr. Cohen’s viola, or the distinctive color of the accompaniment? However you explain it, the whole felt larger than the sum of the parts.

Matthew Cohen NYC 4-23-2022

Matthew Cohen in action

Rebecca Clarke: Morpheus

Rebecca Clarke was an English composer. Morpheus opens with a distinctly English viola melody over a subdued accompaniment laced with soft glissandos. Think of Ralph Vaughan Williams with an impressionist overlay.

Mr. Cohen’s ethereal execution was ably supported by Zhenni’s atypically low-key accompaniment. My thanks to these musicians for introducing us to this delightful gem.

Tchaikovsky: paraphrase on Eugene Onegin

In musical terms, a paraphrase falls somewhere between an arrangement and a rework. What we heard was not what Tchaikovsky wrote, and yet it was Tchaikovsky. I am uncertain who arranged it.

Brahms: Sonata No. 1 in E minor for cello and piano

Arranged for viola and piano by Mr. Cohen, this was a pleasant and mellow experience. For me, it was overshadowed by the previous works.  Programmatically, it was a well-chosen lead-in to the Bach/Busoni that followed.

Piano Solo

In the first half of this concert, Ms. Li-Cohen’s role was that of a supporting pianist. In the second half, freed of the confines of collaboration, we experienced her at her most vivid. I will focus primarily on her Bach/Busoni, the peak of the evening.

Zhenni Li-Cohen 4/23/2022

Zhenni Li-Cohen getting into it

Bach/Busoni Chaconne in D minor

Ferruccio Busoni‘s arrangement of Bach’s violin partita is a colossal masterwork. I personally prefer more restrained interpretations to those that are overtly virtuoso. And indeed, Zhenni’s opening was well-paced and satisfyingly stately.

Later there were a couple of glitches, but she fought through and stayed in command. Toward the finish some fast passages were hurried, arguably appropriate to such a passionate delivery.

Overall I greatly enjoyed Ms. Li-Cohen’s performance, which I perceived to have an unusually romantic spin. Partly this was because she used a lot of pedal. But later when reviewing the audio, I found that my perception had also been colored by the pianist’s highly expressive body language.

One rarely sees this arrangement played with so much visual bravura. Look at the example in my photograph of Zhenni at the piano. At first this seemed sacrilegious. I mean this was BACH, so why was the pianist throwing herself around like a rag doll? But in fact the best pianists use every tool at their disposal, and that’s exactly what she was doing.

Robin, Matthew and Zhenni 4-23-2022

Host Robin with the performers

Debussy: Preludes 1-5, Book 1

These Debussy preludes felt like a Monet painting. I loved how Ms. Li-Cohen managed the balance between low and high registers to create depth and serenity. Of everything Zhenni played for us, this was her most impressive accomplishment.

Stravinsky/Agosti: Danse Infernal du roi Kastchei (Firebird)

Informatively introduced by Ms. Li-Cohen, this was a short and entertaining conclusion. After Debussy, it felt like a pre-programmed encore.

Closing thoughts

Zhenni and Matthew overcame similar challenges from their sheet music “tech”. I was impressed to see Zhenni’s left hand keep playing while her right swiped repeatedly at a recalcitrant page on her tablet. And I was impressed to see Matthew kick his malfunctioning bluetooth pedal away and play perfectly without it.

From their well-designed program to their resilience under pressure, the Cohen viola and piano duo gave us a wonderful evening.  We were privileged to spend time with these truly professional musicians.

 

Filed Under: Concerts, Private Concerts Tagged With: Bach-Busoni, Chaconne, Debussy, Matthew Cohen, Morpheus, piano, Rebecca Clarke, Robin Shoemaker, Stravinsky, viola, Zhenni Li, ZHenni Li-Cohen

Vienna Philharmonic: The Show Must Go On

Saturday, February 26th, 2022 by Ken Leave a Comment

Vienna Philharmonic Carnegie Hall February 2022

Vienna Philharmonic at Carnegie

On February 24th, 2022, we saw the most remarkable Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concert at Carnegie Hall. It was an all-Rachmaninoff program whose conductor and pianist were cancelled the day before the concert, due to current world events.

In their place, pianist Seong-Jin Cho flew in from Germany and Yannick Nézet-Séguin of the Metropolitan Opera stepped in as conductor.

Seon-Jin Cho is an energetic young performer who had a daunting task at Carnegie. In Central European Time (CET), he started to play at 2:25 a.m.

Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No 2

From my balcony seat, the keyboard was visible from end to end like an airport runway from an incoming flight. Seong-Jin Cho’s hands were too distant to see clearly. Would he play the opening 10-key-wide left hand chords as written, or would he use a small-hand workaround? Some pianists will play the bottom note like a soft grace note; others will roll (arpeggiate) those chords. But Mr. Cho’s opening sounded as the composer intended.

Thereafter, Mr. Cho bounced and kicked his way through the concerto with spiky verve. While the piano often blended into the orchestra, Mr. Cho punched the low end through and dazzled us with high-end keyboard pyrotechnics. His brief Schubert encore was invisible by comparison.

Rachmaninoff: Symphony No 2

I own a precious 1994 recording of this symphony by Yuri Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Symphony. It is my baseline for this work. And Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s conducting was theatrically expressive, adding a whole extra dimension to the performance.

The conductor’s interpretation was well-paced and devoid of the tempo rushes I’ve heard elsewhere. This is a sweeping, soaring symphony with progressively larger climaxes salted with strong brass. And yet, something was missing in the brass: it lacked the languishing vibrato I prefer.

Closing thoughts

Some of our top pianists have stepped on to the world stage by standing in for others, but Seong-Jin Cho is already on that stage. He didn’t have to take on this challenge, but the audience at Carnegie was grateful that he did.

This was the first time I had seen the Vienna Philharmonic. Their performance was so clean that it would have been easy to take them for granted and give all the credit to Rachmaninoff. Their first violin’s solo fragments in Rachmaninoff’s 2nd symphony were particularly sweet..

As Mr. Nézet-Séguin said afterwards, if anyone wants an encore, the Vienna Philharmonic would be playing at Carnegie for the next two evenings.

Filed Under: Concerts, Public concerts Tagged With: Carnegie Hall, Denis Matsuev, rachmaninoff, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No 2, Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2, Seong-Jin Cho, St. Petersburg Symphony. Orchestra, Valery Gergiev, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Yuri Temirkanov

Violinist Grace Park’s All-French Concert

Tuesday, December 7th, 2021 by Ken Leave a Comment

Grace Park and Joseph Liccardo

Grace Park and Joseph Liccardo

Grace Park and Joseph Liccardo

On December 13th, 2021, 2018 Naumburg Violin Competition winner Grace Park will give a recital at Carnegie Weill in partnership with pianist Joseph Liccardo.

On December 4th, Grace and Joseph previewed their all-French Carnegie program at Robin Shoemaker’s New York salon. The program spans from the 17th century to the 20th.

Ms. Park explained that it starts with the ethereal (Messiaen), progresses to the dreamy (Fauré), steps back to get grounded (Leclair) and culminates in the clarity of Saint-Saëns.

Messiaen: Thème et Variations

Thème et Variations opens with a plaintive motif that evolves through 5 variations. Ms. Park’s violin flowed over Mr. Liccardo’s nuanced and at times surreal accompaniment. The work peaks in the 5th variation, and the violin gradually steps down to a long, fading B over rolling piano bass. It was simply stunning.

Fauré: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in A major Op. 100

Grace Park plays Fauré

Grace Park playing Fauré

Ms. Park launched attacca into Fauré. We knew to expect this, yet there was applause at the end of Fauré’s first movement. Perhaps this was due to the closing flourish of that allegro molto. Or did the audience think that it was still Messiaen?

Fauré’s sonata contains hints of César Franck’s Sonata in A major, composed decades earlier. Both have that wistful, dreamy French feel. My favorite part was the andante, where pianist Joseph weaved a translucently evocative dialog with the violin.

Leclair: Violin Sonata in D major Op. 9 No. 3

Stepping back to the 17th century, Fauré’s cloudy impressionism was banished by Leclair’s baroque sunshine. Ms. Park’s ornamentation was well-articulated and her double-stopping was strong and satisfying. The final movement (Tambourin: Presto) was a manic folk-dance that had us chuckling.

Saint-Saëns: Sonata No. 1 in D Minor Op. 75

Saint Saëns writes engaging, almost cinematic music, and his Sonata was captivating. We were struck by how well-coordinated the musicians were, no matter how challenging the material.

The work opens as a bumpy Allegro Agitato. The piano variously leads, mirrors and follows. While occasionally it takes the foreground, more often its role is to underpin the irrepressible violin.

The final movement is a rambunctious Allegro Molto. It was breathtaking to watch Grace’s tiny fingers work the fingerboard while her bow danced and Joseph’s piano pulsed tirelessly. Their spirited performance earned a standing ovation.

Grace Park with Joseph and Robin

Grace and Joseph with host Robin

Closing thoughts

When Grace Park (https://www.graceparkviolin.com/) performed at this venue in 2018, she used a 1799 Nicolas Lupot violin.

This time her violin was a 1739 Montagnana. “I love the brilliance of the instrument”, she told me, “the soul of a soprano”.

We love the brilliance of the Grace Park/Joseph Liccardo duo. Collaborating for over 7 years, their coordination is uncannily perfect and their refined musicality a delight.

Finally, there’s still time to get tickets for their December 13th recital at Carnegie Weill.

Filed Under: Concerts, Private Concerts, Violin Tagged With: attacca, Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Weill, Fauré, French impressionism, Grace Park, Joseph Liccardo, Leclair, Messiaen, montagnana, naumburg, Robin Shoemaker, Saint-Saëns, Violin

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