Sunday, February 26, 2006
Twin sisters performed on the cello and violin.
By Robert Rollin
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Saturday night the Youngstown Symphony under Maestro Isaiah Jackson presented a lovely all-Beethoven Powers Auditorium concert. The evening's highlight was a fine and expressive performance of the "Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano and Orchestra" with the talented Claremont Trio as soloists.
The youthful trio, made up of twin sisters, violinist Emily Bruskin and cellist Julia Bruskin, and Canadian pianist Donna Kwong, played the "Concerto" from memory with poise, energy and flair.
The cello received the largest share of solos, and Emily Bruskin was up to the task. In the long first movement, Allegro, she had a nice lyrical solo against the accompanying violas. She and her sister had excellent tone color and intonation, though the cello was overbalanced a few times by the accompanying strings. Pianist Donna Kwong immediately showed fine musicianship and clear rhythmic articulation.
Cello solo
The second movement, beginning with muted violins, soon led to a wonderful, high, lyrical cello solo. Here Emily Bruskin played with great clarity and expression. After the cello was joined by the piano in accompanimental material, the violin entered and took the lead with piano support. An orchestral return was followed by the pairing of violin and cello and, ultimately, by passages for all three instruments.
The finale was introduced by some low piano notes, which Kwong deftly turned into dark, almost growling sounds. Her strong rhythmic support kept things moving and periodically added a jocular mood to this rondo. The Bruskin sisters had expressive thematic interchanges, though at times the middle register cello struggled to be heard. This was an excellent performance of a relatively rarely heard masterwork.
The encore
As a well-appreciated encore, the trio played a movement from American composer Paul Schoenfeld's "Caf & eacute; Music," a nuanced ragtime piece with a lilting, slinky, dancelike quality that reminded one of the roaring '20s.
The Beethoven "Eroica," played as the concert's entire second half, looms as one of the most important 19th-century compositions. Its sheer size and monumental tone make it a difficult piece with which to close a program.
To start the first movement, conductor Jackson took a fast tempo that challenged the orchestra. Some individual entrances were swallowed up in the momentum, but once the lovely fugato began, things settled down nicely. The famous powerfully dissonant moment in the horns was appropriately piquant.
The solemn funeral march was highlighted by Principal Oboe Martin Neubert's truly-expressive solos, by fine tutti sections and another beautiful fugato. The scherzo was exemplary, with effective trio section horns. The finale was a delight, as all orchestral parts performed nobly.
The concert opened with a solid rendition of a few selections from the Contradances, or "Country Dances" for orchestra, a nod to Beethoven's more popular side.