This weekend’s set of Classical series concerts at the Oregon Symphony feature the Canadian violinist Karen Gomyo, who I had a chance to hear several times when she was still just on the cusp of a career, most recently when she came to play the Bruch G minor Violin Concerto with the OSO in 2002 under Norman Leyden. I believe that she also played at the Cascade Festival of Music shortly after she won the Young Concert Artists Auditions – just a week after her 15th birthday – in 1997. I remember being quite impressed with her then, and though she seems hardly to have aged in the intervening years, she has grown tremendously as an artist. This week she plays the fiendishly difficult First Violin Concerto of Sergei Prokofiev, which is also one of the most beautiful violin concertos there is. It’s worth noting that Gomyo plays the “Ex Foulis” Stradivarius (1703), which was purchased for her exclusive use by a private sponsor.
In this video, you can see her in rehearsal with Carlos Kalmar’s other main gig, the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago. If you look closely when the shot zooms in, you’ll notice our own Principal oboist Martin Hebert playing as acting principal oboe in the Grant Park Orchestra.
The concert also features returning Finnish guest conductor Pietari Inkinen, who last appeared with works of Stravinsky (the violin concerto), En Saga of Sibelius, and a Tchaikovsky work (possibly the 4th Symphony?). The other works on this week’s program are the lovely and delicately-scored Siegfried Idyll of Richard Wagner, and the lush and grand Second Symphony of Sibelius.
3 replies on “karen gomyo plays prokofiev”
I just have to comment on this morning’s rehearsal that I was fortunate enough to attend. I was overwhelmed by Gomyo’s performance. Displaying a colorful, warm singing tone in the lyrical passages, she dispatched the virtuoso passages with such panache. And to think it was merely a rehearsal! Violin fans have really had it good in recent weeks with Gomyo closely following Chee Yun’s magical Dvorak concerto. The Sibelius and Wagner sounded wonderful this morning, too. Can’t wait till tonight. Anyone reading this who does not have a ticket should get one because it looks like he or she will be treated to an evening of magnificent music.
I just returned from the evening performance and was so excited that I had to give my impressions. Based on this morning, my expectations were high. They were not only met, but exceeded. There are not enough superlatives to describe the playing this evening, from the sublime Wagner to the magisterial Sibelius, with the stunning Prokofiev sandwiched between. Gomyo is certainly the real thing and treated those of us in attendance to a superb reading of the Prokofiev, which has to be one of the great 20th century violin concertoes. I was impressed with Inkinen the first time he was here and I am even more so now. In fact, I would rank him with Yakov Kreizberg as my favorite guest conductor. He is quite graceful on the podium and boy can he conduct Sibelius, not to mention Wagner and Prokofiev. I don’t believe I have heard more thrilling Sibelius in Portland. All sections of the orchestra were superb and deserved the enthusiatic reaction from the audience. All in all, a great evening of music. Those who don’t have tickets to the remaining concerts should get them. Highly, highly recommended.
Thanks, Curtis – glad you enjoyed the concert!