Reviews
from the Baltimore Sun
In a taut performance of
Beethoven's Op. 74, the Atlantic String Quartet, made up of
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra players, demonstrated the kind
of inter-communication skills that characterize full-time
chamber ensembles. (2004)
The bulk of the recital was devoted to sonatas for violin
and piano. Joining Graf was Lee-Chin Siow, whose own
formidable gifts assured a lively dialogue. The violinist's
burnished tone, firm technique and tasteful phrasing
provided continual pleasure, as did Graf's own expressive
power and second-nature partnering. (2005)
Thomas Benjamin's Aperitif, a sweeping, ear-catching 1983
piece for violin, cello and piano, was boldly delivered.
Elegant playing lifted a violin/cello duet by Haydn; vivid
phrasing brought a 1939 horn/piano sonata by Heiden to
life. And Mendelssohn's C minor Trio received an often
stirring account. (2005)
The pianist (Reinecke) delivered compelling tonal weight
where it counted most, as in the emphatic close of the
first movement or the darkest shadows of the second, and
poured on the warmth for the tender-hearted repose at the
center of the scherzo movement. Yuzefovich and Skoraczewski
matched each other for richness of sound, vitality of
phrasing. They dug into the music's lower epidermis,
getting at the emotional vibrancy of Brahms. (2005)
Katherine Needleman, the BSO's sterling principal oboist,
gave an imaginative recital last Friday for the Music in
the Great Hall series at Towson Unitarian Universalist
Church. She brought her familiar tonal warmth and technical
shine to a program that included the world premiere of
David Ludwig's mercurial, vividly colored Pleiades: Seven
Microludes for Oboe and Piano (written for Needleman). Amy
Klosterman was the oboist's excellent accompanist. (2005)
Jacobowitz and Mahonske collaborated on a tight, colorful
performance of the exceedingly clever Hillendale Waltzes by
the underappreciated Victor Babin. Phyllis Tate’s
moderately interesting Sonata for clarinet and cello found
Jacobowitz and Thron in close rapport. The cellist’s
intonation wandered in Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne, but
Mahonske was again a vivid partner. (2006)
Moeller's playing was especially potent here, as well as
earlier in the program at Towson Unitarian Universalist
Church, when the ensemble gave a vibrant account of
Borodin's Quartet No. 1 in A major. (2007)
... did not keep Loup from communicating incisively, no
where more so than in his wistful, soft-grained phrasing of
Fruhlingstraum. Mahonske tellingly conveyed the wealth of
nuances in the vital piano part. (2008)
Many deft
touches characterized the singer's performance of the
Poulenc and Barber songs, and Markovic-Prakash proved to be
just as compelling an interpreter of the great spirituals
woven together in the Carter work. Throughout the recital,
Mahonske played superbly. He relished Poulenc's every
piquant harmonic shift and produced many a subtle tonal
coloration. He took full advantage of the substantial
keyboard codas in the Tchaikovsky songs -- the way he
articulated each rolling chord at the end of the searing
"Why?" spoke volumes. (2009)
A highlight of the afternoon was his lyrical touch in
Schubert's "Arpeggione"; the wistful quality he generated
in the subdued closing measures proved particularly
telling. Goldstein was well-partnered in that work, as
throughout the concert, by the ever-reliable pianist
Clinton Adams. The two musicians caught the boldness and
beauty of Beethoven's A major Sonata and tapped the
romantic charms of some pieces by Schumann.
(2010)
Listen to excerpts from our concerts.