Concert Review: First Cake, Then Ice Cream

The pianist Boris Berezovsky returns to New York.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

The pianist Boris Berezovsky onstage at the Mariinsky Theater..
Photo copyright 1996 mariinsky.ru.

When the Russian virtuoso pianist Boris Berezovsky last gave a recital in New York City, Bill Clinton was president and Zankel Hall didn't evenexist. So Tuesday night marked the pianists debut at Carnegie’s modern subterranean venture, billed with a finger-busting program of piano études by Bartók, Ligeti and Liszt.

Concert Review: The Weight of the War

Jaap van Zweden leads the Shostakovich Eighth. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Conductor Jaap van Zweden returned to the New York Philharmonic.
Photo © 2014 The Dallas Symphony Orchestra

The Dutch conductor Jaap van Zweden has built a steady reputation in recent years, both with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (where he serves as music director) and a series of yearly guest visits to the New York Philharmonic. On Friday afternoon, Mr. van Zweiden led the latter orchestra in a program of Mozart and Shostakovich, contrasting the former's Sinfonia Concertante with the latter's heavyweight Symphony No. 8.

Concert Review: His Northern Soul

Dmitri Hvorostovsky in recital at Carnegie Hall.
by Ellen Fishbein

Dmitri Hvorostovsky in New York.
Photo by Pasha Antonov © Hvorostovsky.com

The baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky is known for his theatrical spirit, as seen in Verdi roles on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. But for Wednesday night's Carnegie Hall recital with accompanist Ivari Ilja he allowed a certain sweetness to emerge in this all-Russian program.

Sergei Rachmaninoff's songs glide from grandiosity to the tenderest edges of the musical palette. Drawing inspiration from his chosen composer (and perhaps acknowledging the critiques of his own bombastic style), Mr. Hvorostovsky opened this recital with the composer's “My child, you are beautiful as a flower,” (Op. 8 No. 2), sung with a loving sweetness. The words floated from his lips as if he could sing them in no other way.

Opera Review: Finding Nemorino

Anna Netrebko returns in L'Elisir d'Amore.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The guy behind her has a bigger hat: Anna Netrebko as Adina in L'Elisir d'Amore.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

The Metropolitan Opera has revived its season-opening production of L'Elisir d'Amore for a few performances, giving more opera-goers a chance to see director Bartlett Sher's take on Donizetti's most famous comedy. (An earlier Superconductor review was of the opening night telecast, seen among the neon and bustle of Times Square.)

For no apparent reason, director Bartlett Sher refashions this opera buffa as a Verdi-esque clash between oppressive soldiers and would-be guerrilla fighters during the Risorgimento. As Dr. Dulcamara (Erwin Schrott) sells his brand of snake oil to the local peasants, his two assistants distribute single-action rifles from the back of his pushcart. The soldiers under Belcore's command are more threatening than usual, underlining the idea of political and personal tensions that will eventually erupt in violent revolution.

This production (seen Wednesday, Feb. 6) continues to revolve around its two leads, the inspired pairing of tenor Matthew Polenzani and star soprano Anna Netrebko. They both seem more comfortable in their roles, with the show-boating and jitters of opening night ditched in favor of a more natural style of comedy. There's a sweetness that wasn't there before in Ms. Netrebko's performance--she seemed more involved in the character even as she tossed off a virtuosic display of bel canto singing. Her tone was firm and assured in the big solo numbers yet rich and melting in her final duet with Nemorino.

Concert Review: Five Thousand Fingers

Daniil Trifonov makes his Carnegie Hall recital debut.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Daniil Trifonov. Photo © 2012 Decca Classics.

For any young musician making their way in the world of classical music, a first solo recital at Carnegie Hall is a big deal. For the young Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov, who started his lessons at the age of five and now makes his first solo appearance at the legendary concert venue at the age of 21, the stakes on Tuesday night were huge.

For this program, Mr. Trifonov chose a program balancing standard repertory with the flashy musicianship one hopes to see from a promising young piano-slinger. With long, seemingly boneless fingers and a keen musical mind, Mr. Trifonov has formidable physical tools that allow him to follow in his country's long tradition of pianistic skill. This concert was his chance to show that he is the next potential carrier of that flame.

The concert opened with Alexander Scriabin's dream-like Sonata-Fantasie, a piece with contrasting slow and fast movements. Mr. Trifonov hunched his lanky frame over the keys, seeming to burn with concentration as he drew this composer's unique, diaphanous textures out in the slow movement. Notes peeped through the gossamer of sound, coalescing into themes. In the second movement, the left hand rhythms were played with an almost over-eager drive, propelling the work's rhythm to a blazing finish.