Tag: Classical Music

REVIEW: Maxim Vengerov with Polina Osetinskaya

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Sunday, November 26th, violinist Maxim Vengerov and pianist Polina Osetinskaya graced Hill Auditorium. It was a full house with a diverse audience, as both of them are world-renowned musicians in high demand. Maxim Vengerov is a Grammy award winner who began his career as a solo violinist when he was just five years old, also the age Polina Osetinskaya began her piano career. With repertoire from four different composers, the music expressed all kinds of emotion, a fitting ambiance for Sunday being the first day of snow and the last day of break.

They opened with Clara Schumann’s Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22, a bittersweet melody that the piano weaved together and the violin brought to life with a strong vibrato on every note. Vengerov and Osetinskaya balanced each other well by taking turns crescendoing or decrescendoing, neither ever overwhelming the other: it was literally the dynamic of a tug-of-war in love.

The next few pieces, in contrast, were striking and sprightful. Whenever there was pizzicato, a technique where the player strums the strings with their fingers, Vengerov would use his whole arm with flare. With every musical line, he played with a full bow that led to a few passionately broken bow hairs. In general, I was enamored by the skill he handles his bow. A lot of the pieces have spiccato, which is a technique where the bow bounces off of the string, and Vengerov transitions seamlessly between the spiccato and legato. The piano creates a similar dialogue by interchanging staccato (a technique of playing notes short but is fundamentally different from spiccato) and legato too.

Since it was only the two playing, the usually cramped stage looked bizarrely empty. People often talk about stage presence when it comes to dancers and singers, but this pair’s stage presence was enough to fill up the whole space. It’s always exciting whenever famous musicians come to town, and this was my second time seeing Vengerov at Hill Auditorium.

This was their concert program:

Clara Schumann
Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22

Johannes Brahms
F-A-E Sonata (Scherzo excerpt)

Robert Schumann
Violin Sonata No. 3 in a minor, WoO27

Sergei Prokofiev
Five Melodies for Violin and Piano, Op. 35bis
Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 94bis

 In addition, they included three encore pieces. 

It was a wonderful show and definitely something I recommend classical music lovers attend!

REVIEW: Complete Solo Violin Sonatas of Eugene Ysaÿe Presented by SMTD Violinists

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To celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for the violin, 13 students studying under Professors Danielle Belen, Aaron Berofsky, David Halen, and Fabiola Kim gave an outstanding performance of the complete set on Monday, November 20th in the Stamps Auditorium on North Campus.

The violin is most commonly seen in an orchestra or accompanied by a pianist. Ysaÿe’s sonatas, however, only showcase the violin. His work highlights the raw beauty and power a talented musician can bring out of such a small instrument. The music made full use of what the violin has to offer through double stops, chords, harmonics, and more, all techniques difficult to master because the slightest tilt of the bow or millimeter difference between the fingers can taint the sound. When Professor Belen and Professor Kim opened the event, they said this was a rare performance only made possible because of the talent that SMTD has.

It was my first time listening to Ysaÿe’s sonatas except for a brief video clip I saw of Maxim Vengerov playing a passage in Sonata No. 3 in D minor, “Ballade,” op.27. It’s a gorgeous movement that has a consistent melodic theme with different variations, but unlike Vengerov’s fierce interpretation, the student soloist Yuchen Cao had a much more gentle and relaxed approach, almost as if he were stroking the strings with his bow.

Sonata No. 2 in A minor, op. 27 had a few elements that pleasantly surprised me. In the II movement, Malinconia, the soloist uses a mute, a tool that string players put on the bridge of their instrument to create a fuzzier sound. Similarly, the III movement, Danse des Ombres, began with pizzicato, a technique where the player strums the strings with their fingers. Both were fun and interesting additions that contrasted the heavier or brighter music that violinists tend to emphasize in solo works.

The last act performed by Tianyu Lin simply blew me away. His technique, the vibrato, the intonation, and the tone, were perfect, making his double stops and chords beautifully ring and synchronize. The precision he had when scaling the fingerboard from its lowest to the highest range was flawless. I honestly feel like I was more enamored by his skill and talent than the music.

Symphonies and concertos are all lovely, but it was a nice change of pace to listen to a collection of Sonatas live. I’ve always been aware that the music department at UofM is top-tier, but this event let the individuals who make up the department shine.

REVIEW: Splendid Sounds of Taiwan: Soloists of the National Chinese Orchestra of Taiwan

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As part of the U-M Fall 2023 Festival of Asian Music, the National Chinese Orchestra of Taiwan came to Ann Arbor and hosted a variety of events from October 1st to 4th. On their last day, soloists of the ensemble performed at Hill Auditorium and showcased various traditional Eastern instruments including but not limited to the Yangqin (dulcimer) performed by Ming-Hui Lin; Dizi (flute) performed by Chen-Ling Liu; Sheng (reed organ) performed by Chi-Mi Chen; Erhu (two-string fiddle) performed by Yi-Fang Wu; and Gehu (four-string bass fiddle) performed by Ya-Tsing Hsu.

It’s difficult for me to describe each of the instruments, since it was my first time hearing them live. While the strings sounded muted, they were incredibly resonant and easily filled the large hall. The Dizi was sharp and piercing, whereas the Sheng blended beautifully in the background. My favorite was the Yangqin, which could produce a variety of clear and subtle textures. Though there was only one person playing each instrument, the music never felt lacking in dynamics and balance.

Their large selection of music shared a common theme of nature or dance. Each piece had a title that gave further insight into the intended imagery, sentiment, and context of the music. Furthermore, details of the historical background and origins of each piece were written in the concert programs. Reading the descriptions beforehand really added to my experience, because it gave me a visual aid to interpret as I listened.

For example, in the opening piece, Queen of Courtesans, each tempo change painted the different steps of a dance; the tremelo of The Butterfly Loves Flowers resembled a butterfly’s beating wings; and the grace notes decorating many of the other pieces acted as falling leaves and flowers.

The most impressive part of the program was the Skylark; the Skylark was a solo piece featuring an instrument called a koudi (similar to a picollo), which is so incredibly small I couldn’t even see it in the soloists hands. As implied by the title, it featured the melody of a skylark. The resemblance was simply uncanny to an actual bird.

Overall, it was a wonderful and unique experience to attend this concert. If given the opportunity, I highly recommend listening to music from other cultures.

REVIEW: Renée Fleming, soprano, with Inon Barnatan, piano

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7:30pm • Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 • Hill Auditorium

Last night’s performance was a profoundly beautiful joining of nature and human artistry. In her musical program for this recital, Renée Fleming reminded us that our natural environment is humanity’s oldest muse, and it is in danger.

Fleming, a world-renowned soprano, is a five-time Grammy award-winner as well as a recipient of the National Medal of Arts. She was accompanied by Inon Barnatan, described as “One of the most admired pianists of his generation” by the New York Times, whose week-long residency at U-M includes two more performances on October 4th and 5th. The recital included the world premiere of “Voice of Nature,” a multimedia collaboration with National Geographic based on Fleming’s most recent work, “Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene.” “Voice of Nature” collected music from Fleming’s new album as well as from artists as varied as Björk and Howard Shore (The Lord of the Rings), all accompanied by a film created by National Geographic to represent the beauty of nature and the threat posed by global climate change.

“Voice of Nature” was a deeply poignant experience for me. In the 30-minute piece, imagery depicting the diversity and ingenuity of life on Earth was accompanied by poetic ruminations on life’s transience. The songs captured how nature has served as a backdrop for human love stories throughout time and reminded us that climate change threatened both. I was struck by the end of the piece in particular, where Fleming sang “Evening” by Kevin Puts, accompanied by images of shifting Aurora Borealis interspersed with gently spiraling views of the Milky Way. The solar winds buffeting the planet from millions of miles away, set within our solar system’s grand context, made me feel very small. The lyrics spoke to the space between hope and despair: “We know we are doomed, done for, damned, and still the light reaches us, falls on our shoulders even now, even here where the moon is hidden from us, even though the stars are so far away.”

The performance left me with much to reflect on. I was inspired by the power of music to evoke feelings of hope and commitment to life on Earth, which Fleming curated so thoughtfully in this program. For me, the call to action presented in Fleming’s work and in the accompanying film also exemplifies the spirit of arts as resistance, and I look forward to experiencing more work along this theme throughout this semester.

REVIEW: Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra – Dvorak Symphony No. 7

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Despite having performed at the Michigan Theater several times as part of the Michigan Pops Orchestra, last Saturday was the first time I experienced the stage as an audience member. It is truly a gem on campus–the shining gilded walls, rich carpets, and warm lighting never fail to transport you to a different world. Plus, where else can you hop over to your nearby movie theater to see your local symphony orchestra play live?

On Saturday, March 18th, I had the pleasure of hearing the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra perform with violinist and International Tchaikovsky Competition medalist Kyung Sun Lee. Initially drawn in by the promise of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2, I was also awarded lovely performances of Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7 and Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”.

The concert opened with “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”, featuring a solo meandering flute that is later joined by mellow horns and shimmery harp runs. Strings provide a soft, dreamy foundation for the woodwind melody to unwind and give the impression of a rolling, natural landscape. The ensemble did a wonderful job of melding sounds together into a cohesive form despite the fluid nature of the piece.

Following Debussy was the highly anticipated Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 2, performed by Kyung Sun Lee. Lee’s sound was distinctly dark and rich, even through bright double stops and etude-like passages at the beginning of the concerto. The concert program mentioned that she plays a Guanerius violin, which was interesting to evaluate the sound quality live. I could go on and on about why I love this concerto, but here I will specifically highlight the second movement. The delicate violin solo is extremely exposed, both in terms of being octaves above the orchestra bed of lilting triplets and by having a different rhythmic feeling. Lee’s interpretation was a touch faster than what I was used to, but beautiful nonetheless. Because of the awkward rhythmic timing involved, entrances and exits are extremely difficult to place–I felt like the orchestra could have spent a little more time nailing these down with the soloist.

Concluding the concert was Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7. Juicy, triumphant, and distinctly Czech, this work was a pleasure to behold. Even as a somewhat regular classical concert-goer, I have difficulty digesting entire symphonies. However, the parts that definitely grabbed my attention were the second (Poco Adagio) and fourth (Finale Allegro) movements. The Poco Adagio features a rich string melody that gets passed off to the warm brass, while the Finale Allegro is a dark and explosive conclusion to the work.

Overall, I had a wonderful time listening to the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. Looking forward, I hope to keep an eye out for the rest of the season to catch any interesting performances coming up!

PREVIEW: Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra – Dvorak Symphony No. 7

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This Saturday, March 18th, grab a seat at The Michigan Theater to hear A²SO’s take on Dvorak’s highly acclaimed Symphony No. 7 and Debussy’s charming “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”. Additionally, violinist and International Tchaikovsky Competition medalist Kyung Sun Lee will be joining the orchestra to perform Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2. 

To be honest, nothing makes me feel more old than being able to look at a concert program and have a strong reaction to what pieces are included. However, when I saw Dvorak, Debussy, and Prokofiev all together on the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra’s next program, I got very excited. It seemed *just my cup of tea*–as the concert-going grannies might say. 

I expect this particular combination of pieces to create a really lovely soundscape–Dvorak’s dreamy Czech melodies along with Debussy’s distinct impressionist sound will provide the perfect stress-relieving break in the midst of exams. On top of that, Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2 is among my favorite pieces of all time. While on the more conservative, melodically-rich side of Prokofiev’s work, the concerto is a patchwork of heartwrenching melodies and darker, turbulent passages.

Ticket information: https://a2so.com/event-directory/dvorak-7/?utm_source=sendinblue&utm_campaign=Bookers%20%20Dvorak%207%20%20Symphony%20Snaps&utm_medium=email