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You are here: Home / Archives for Paganini

Rosa Chang, Carlos Arcos perform with Ivan Gusev in NYC

Friday, May 24th, 2019 by Ken Leave a Comment

On May 23rd, 2019 I was privileged to attend an opera recital at the Shoemaker Salon on Central Park West in New York. The event featured Korean soprano Rosa Chang, Ecuadorian baritone Carlos Arcos, and Russian pianist Ivan Gusev.

Ms. Chang previously sang at this venue in January 2018, which I reviewed here. Mr. Gusev recently gave a recital that included some of the works played this evening, reviewed here.

Rosa Chang: Rossini, Liszt and Fauré

Rosa Chang

Ms. Chang introduced each program item before singing it. This was informative and at times entertaining, making for a lively evening.

Rosa Chang’s La Promessa was a treat. Gusev’s sparkling piano intertwined with her conversational phrases in a charming duet. The aria closed on a sustained octave leap, which Ms. Chang hit and held flawlessly.

Throughout the evening Ms. Chang showed fine control over every aspect of her performance: her voice, expressions and gestures.

Carlos Arcos: Tosti, Reynaldo Hahn

Carlos Arcos

Mr. Arcos’s Tosti showcased his passionate delivery and magnificent voice. An Ecuadorian, he convinced me that he had become Italian for Tosti’s Non t’amo piu.

Carlos Arcos’s A Chloris opened with a harmonic progression on the piano that is reminiscent of Pachelbel’s Canon. Indeed after his performance, a member of the audience asked Arcos about possible influences.

Ivan Gusev plays Rachmaninov

Ivan Gusev: Rachmaninov, Paganini-Liszt

Rachmaninov’s Études Tableaux in A minor (“The Sea and the Seagulls”) is one of the composer’s crowning achievements.

Gusev’s performance was mesmerizing. I looked for a comparable performance on the Internet and found just one, by Vladimir Ashkenazy.

The work opens in a dream-like state. The right hand crosses the left to punctuate Rachmaninov’s reflective arpeggios with a slow bass motif..

This morphs into waves of excruciating collapse at 2:20, 2:50 and beyond. Then it transitions to a major key, only to slip back to the opening calm. These timings are with respect to Gusev’s 2018 Youtube video.

Gusev also played Liszt’s La Campanella, a demanding work that is as much fun to watch as it is to listen to.

Rigoletto, Don Pasquale, Camelot, La Traviata

After a short Intermission we heard three more excellent arias from Rosa Chang and one song from Carlos Arcos.

I don’t have room here to give a run-down on each item. However I would single out Mr. Arcos who, supported by pianist Gusev, gave a heartfelt rendition of If ever I would leave you, the show-stopping romantic ballad from Camelot.

Encores

Ivan Gusev, Robin Shoemaker, Rosa Chang, Carlos Arcos

Carlos Arcos sang Pampamapa by Carlos Guastavino. The piano accompaniment for this Argentinian song at times imitates the strumming of a guitar.

Rosa Chang sang Puccini’s O mio babbino caro, The aching beauty of this aria is so typical of Puccini. Ms. Chang’s refined vibrato and her perfect attack once again resulted in an exquisite performance.

Ivan Gusev closed the evening with a virtuoso performance of Chopin’s Minute Waltz. I loved how he played with pacing in order to magnify the accelerando of the waltz.

Closing Thoughts

In these troubled times it is reassuring to see such diverse musicians collaborate to present an evening of great music.

Rosa Chang stood out as as a superlative soprano who could perform for the most discriminating audience.

Carlos Arcos pulled off a win despite joining the program at short notice.

And pianist Ivan Gusev played tirelessly through the entire evening, both as an accompanist and as a soloist.

Filed Under: Concerts, Opera, Private Concerts Tagged With: Camelot, Carlos Arcos, Carlos Guastavino, Chopin, Donizetti, Etudes Tableaux, Ivan Gusev, Liszt, Minute Waltz, O mio babbino caro, Paganini, Pampamapa, Puccini, Rachmaninov, Reynaldo Hahn, Robin Shoemaker, Rosa Chang, Verdi, Vladimir Ashkenazy

Suliman Tekalli Captivates at Central Park West

Friday, June 29th, 2018 by Ken Leave a Comment

Suliman Tekalli and Mika Sasaki chez Shoemaker

Suliman Tekalli and Mika Sasaki at the Shoemaker Salon

Suliman Tekalli and Mika Sasaki

On Thursday June 28th, 2018, violinist Suliman Tekalli performed with collaborative pianist Mika Sasaki at the Shoemaker salon on Central Park West, NYC.

The published program included works ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Saint Saens.

Bach Violin Sonata No. 2 in A minor

Suliman introduced this work by noting Bach’s mastery of writing for multiple voices. He explained how remarkable it is that 3 voices can be played on a solo violin.

Listening to those voices as played by Mr. Tekalli, I felt that Bach’s work belonged in a soaring cathedral rather than an enclosed recital space. But even without a cathedral, Mr. Tekalli projected the essential spirituality of Bach.

Paganini Caprice No. 24

This famous violin solo is physically demanding for the violinist. I was impressed by the complex pizzicato towards 3 minutes into the piece, during which Tekalli plucked strings using fingers from both left and right hands, while at the same time stopping strings with the left.

Tekalli’s energetic performance earned cheers, during which we saw him shake his slender fingers loose after their vigorous workout.

Brahms Violin Sonata Op. 78 No. 1 in G major – Vivace ma non troppo

As the first work of the evening in which Ms. Sasaki participated, this was a fine showpiece for collaboration and a feast for Brahms fans. I loved the to-and-fro between the instruments. Mr. Tekalli’s assertive lyricism was captivating, outdoing even my perennial favorite Ida Haendel.

Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5 K.219 – Allegro aperto

As Suliman stated, everyone knows the sunshine that is Mozart. Indeed this was a delightful romp, during which Ms. Sasaki managed to accompany the violin without overwhelming it with the low-end power of Mr. Shoemaker’s Steinway.  And there was an unexpected bonus in the form of real evening sunshine, which for a few minutes cast a moving shadow from violin and bow on the salon wall.

Lei Yusheng Festival of the City of Flowers

Suliman Tekalli (violin), Mika Sasaki (piano)

Suliman Tekalli, Mika Sasaki

This new work from Chinese instrumentalist Lei Yusheng was a late addition to the program. Tekalli informed us that he had received it only recently from the composer.

As he explained, the work can be thought of as a hybrid of 19th century composers such as Kreisler and Strauss, and Chinese melodies. While China has become a classical music powerhouse in the 21st century, I never expected to hear 19th century Viennese waltzes from a 21st century composer of any nationality!

It was hard to resist the pulse of these waltzes. At times the piano took center stage, showcasing Ms. Sasaki’s command of the instrument while the violin played a subsidiary role.

I greatly enjoyed this work, and members of the audience whom I consulted afterwards considered Yusheng to be the highlight of their evening. We joked that our small group may have inadvertently witnessed a world premiere.

Saint Saens Caprice d’Apres l’Etude en Forme de Valse, Op. 52 No. 6 (arr. Ysaÿe)

In an evening of such musical contrasts, Tekalli’s Saint Saens seemed out of place. This illustrates the challenges of putting a recital program together. Coming after Lei Yusheng, it seemed like an anticlimax. At another venue, it would have stood out better.

Debussy Beau Soir

Such was the lean beauty of Suliman Tekalli’s tone for Debussy’s two-minute gem, that the violin at times seemed muted.  Ms. Sasaki’s artfully restrained piano collaboration added sonorous background and moments of bright punctuation to the violin’s serene song. This piece was a fitting and magical end to the recital. It had indeed been un beau soir – a beautiful evening, as we saw from the rooftop afterwards.

On August 18th Suliman Tekalli will participate in the Schoenfeld International String Competition in Harbin, China.

 

Filed Under: Concerts, Private Concerts Tagged With: Beau Soir, Debussy, Harbin, Lei Yusheng, Mika Sasaki, Mozart, Paganini, Robin Shoemaker, Schoenfeld, suliman tekalli, Violin, Yusheng Lei

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