We played the first of our three concerts of this weekend’s Classical set last night, and it was quite frankly loads of fun, at least for me, anyway. And I know that a lot of my colleagues in the string section are feeling the same thing. Pinchas Zukerman is in town wearing two hats: conductor and violinist. And he brought his wife, cellist Amanda Forsyth, to join him in Brahms’ great Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra.
It’s been a great set of rehearsals leading up to the concerts. Zukerman has a relaxed and genial approach to working from the podium (at least as a guest conductor, I cannot speak for how he works with his orchestra, the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottowa, Ontario, Canada) and clearly knows the music inside and out.
On Thursday afternoon, we rehearsed the Brahms, with Pinky (as he is commonly known) playing the violin and cello parts while leading us through the tutti passages with his bow as a baton. His approach is a bit old-fashioned – his Beethoven is not of the sleek, lithe, and quicksilver variety that Carlos has engendered in the works of the Classical Viennese masters – but the sound he’s getting from the strings is lush and soft, with a bit of steel holding it together. He talks about a sound of “chocolate” quite a bit, and it’s a good image (even if it does make my stomach rumble as the morning rolls along).
The Brahms, however, is the gem of the concert. Both players are quite evenly matched, which is no mean feat considering Zukerman’s near legendary technical and musical command. But Forsyth is a tremendously strong player, with a big sound, lots of charisma, and clearly can stand up to and toss back whatever her illustrious husband can throw at her!
So, if you were on the fence about this concert – make a point to get to one of our remaining concerts this Sunday and Monday evenings (or if you’re in Salem, at Willamette University on Tuesday night). You won’t be sorry!
UPDATE: Here’s David Stabler’s review of last night’s concert from Oregonlive.com.
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Last night’s concert was yet another highlight of what has been an outstanding season. I had never heard the Brahms live before. It was a memorable experience. Although Beethoven no longer appears on my list of favorite composers, the OSO did a fine job with his symphony. I thought Zukerman was very good as a conductor and as a soloist. I would like to see him invited back.
What an awesome concert! I’m going on Monday (mezzanine level) but attended last night to watch from up close from Row G (side) – I’m glad I did as the Brahms was a blast! Understandably not perfect sans conductor but that’s easily overlooked as the soloists and orchestra were having so much fun. Forsyth’s performance was a pleasant surprise but admittedly I hadn’t heard any of her recordings and didn’t know that expect. It was amazing to watch Zukerman shift between roles with such ease & grace.
I can’t come tonight but looking forward to Monday night in better sounding seats. The sound/balance seated front/right side is a little wonky…
I’ll be interested to hear what the balance is like in the Brahms – certainly we’re playing chamber music on stage, but the orchestration can get pretty thick, especially when Amanda is playing. David Stabler didn’t make any mention of balance problems in his review, which he’s usually on top of, so perhaps it wasn’t a big issue?
I suspect balance for the rest of the hall was fine. This seat was up against the right wall with my eye level at/slightly below the stage. In the Brahms – I could hear the soloists & a lot of Jun so not a bad thing per se but different 😉
Different balance than what I’m used to with the Beethoven too… some voices stood out more than expected. Also – couldn’t tell if there was a slight “unintended reverb” with the 1st & 2nd’s spiccato right at the allegro con brio in the 1st mvmt or if the hall was playing tricks my ears… happened w/ the repeat too.
I assume my perception from a “normal” seat will be fine… will let you know!