Home  Entertainment Reviews NMSO Midori
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Written by D.S. Crafts
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last updated Wednesday, February 28, 2007, at 14:21:04
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Ever since her professional debut at age 11, Japanese violinist Midori has been a mainstay of the classical concert scene. Not surprisingly, during that time she has tackled everything in standard concerto literature and a good deal beyond. So when Music Director Guillermo Figueroa suggested that she perform the very rarely-heard Benjamin Britten Violin Concerto with the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, she jumped at the chance.
A product of a trip to Canada, the Britten Violin Concerto predates the outbreak of World War II by several months. It has often been viewed as a plea for peace (especially the finale), yet clearly there is an element of anxiety which pervades the work as if Britten, a lifelong pacifist, could see in vain before him the horrific carnage that was about to engulf Europe. More focused on rhythms than melody, the work may remind listeners both of the Barber Concerto as well as music of Shostakovich as regards its harmonic idiom. And Britten's brilliant sense of orchestration is much in evidence even in this relatively youthful work. Midori, as well as the NMSO under Figueroa, make a persuasive case for the work with this carefully executed reading. There was bounding energy galore as well as a solo cadenza in the middle of the piece which Midori highlighted gloriously with visceral double stops and glowing pianissimos. Forceful yet ethereal, her playing coupled elegant lyricism with vigor and contrast, all delineated with razor sharp articulation. While the Britten work may never be as popular as, say, the Barber Concerto, it is well worth the hearing, especially when given by an artist the stature of Midori. I heartily applaud Maestro Figueroa's programming of a work much outside standard repertoire. Midori's admirable commitment to young musicians is well-known and Friday night at Popejoy Hall she generously shared the stage with members of the Albuquerque Youth Symphony to play the Double Violin Concerto by Bach. The second violin part was taken by violinists Caroline Lee and Cameron Boyack in the first and third movements, while oboist Josephine Gonzales gave the beautifully soaring melody of the Largo ma non tanto, an exquisite if not perfect piece of music. The second half was all Romanticism. As an extra bonus Midori appear once again to play the Finale movement of the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, one of the staples of the concerto literature. Amir Kats led the Albuquerque Youth Symphony with gusto, fully rising to the occasion of performing with this legendary soloist. The Bohemian spirit continued as the NMSO retook the stage for an exciting performance of five of the most well-known from Dvorak's two sets of Slavonic Dances. These immediately melodic and infectiously rhythmic works made a small fortune for his publisher and enough to live on at least for Dvorak.
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg, was made into a TV program for the PBS network and aired nationally in 2004 and won an Emmy for Best Music. His latest opera La Llorona is a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya based on his play "The Season of La Llorona." Mr. Crafts is currently working on another commission from Jerry Hadley for a piece about the American Southwest which includes texts by Rudolfo Anaya and V.B. Price. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from his various operas) have been released on the BACAT label in San Francisco.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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