A Week Full of Interesting Concerts

April 17, 2007 at 7:06 PM

So, this past week was one full of concerts, unique in their own way. Either witnessing them or taking part, each was memorable.

Thursday night was the world premiere of the completed version of Evan Fein's violin concerto (which I commissioned last year). With Anita Pontremoli, we brought hours of work to this wonderful piece, and felt good with the end result. Evan spent a huge amount of time on it, and I'm thankful for it! It was also a great bonding time with Anita, whose collaboration I cherish and always learn from.

Friday, my little sister and I went to a packed Wolstein Arena performance by the Pussycat Dolls and Christina Aguilera, who is currently on her "Back to Basics" tour. Let me assure you, there was NOTHING "basic" about her spectacular production, and the theatrics and incredibly powerful voice were a great escape from classical music. :)

Saturday night was a (very very) late Christmas present to my best friend, and we enjoyed good seats at the Emanuel Ax concert at Severance Hall. If there is a pianist performing today who can so clearly define the Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto, and who plays with a consummate blend of technical precision and informed musicianship, I don't know of them. In performances, one hesitates to use words such as "definitive" and "perfection", but this concert embodied everything one could hope for in Brahms (and more). A special mention of Rich King's moving horn solos that opened the concerto are in order.

No more live concerts for me, at least for awhile. :( Next: finishing the recording of Evan's concerto, a Brahms d minor sonata, trip to Dallas, and ten days of 4 performances of all different rep. Enjoying springtime while I can! :)

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A Week Full of Interesting Concerts

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