Violinist's Brahms lights musical fire
Article published March 27, 2010
Violinist's Brahms lights musical fire
By SALLY VALLONGO
SPECIAL TO THE BLADE
Last night's Classics VII concert by the Toledo Symphony was cleverly titled indeed.
"A Bow to Brahms" signified the formal gesture of respect for the Big Johannes of German Romanticism paid by later composers like Richard Strauss - two of whose works opened the concert in the Peristyle. And it promised surprise and splendor as debuting violinist Jennifer Frautschi took her bow to bring Brahms' Violin Concerto to life.
The program marched back in time from Strauss' "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" (1895), then his "Death and Transfiguration" (1890), until it stopped with the Brahms masterpiece (1878).
"Till" exploded in the hall like a mine, with blaring horn calls, sinuous string melodies, and raucous clarinet pronouncements punctuating this brilliantly abstract tone poem about a real character in German history.
If the orchestra seemed a bit unready in the opening passages, it quickly made up for it with clear and defined playing in a sort of musical tag that just didn't quit. The piece is all about texture and color as sections and soloists, all very much on their game, announce and reiterate themes, seeming to reinvent each time.
"Death and Transfiguration," with its more obvious musical narrative, revealed a more conservative Strauss at work. Conductor Stefan Sanderling and the orchestra gave it a fluid and assured reading with ample amounts of contrast and deviation of notes. Frautschi, playing a 1722 Antonio Stradivarius, known as the ex-Cadiz, offered a nuanced performance of the Brahms work. The orchestra was masterful in its accompaniment, allowing the solo line to emerge, over and over through the three movements, with clarity and brilliance.
The balance made this big work seem very much like a chamber performance, albeit one packing a full orchestra. Frautschi played with assurance and apparent ease, if not with much musical fire.
This concert pair is a memorial to Caroline Jobst Reimann, a long-time supporter of the TSO.
"A Bow to Brahms" will repeat at 8 tonight in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle. Tickets are $20-$50 at 419-246-8000 or www.toledosymphony.com.
Contact Sally Vallongo at:
svallongo@theblade.com.
