Just for Sydney

April 1, 2006 at 8:49 PM

Sydney demanded I review my most recent concert, so, here goes. Oh the things I do for you, Syd. ;-)

Tuesday night, I was privileged to recieve free tickets to a concert at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale through Maistro William Noll. The concert was originally supposed to show the talents of two young prodigees: 19 year old Valeriy Sokolov on violin and 14 year old Sijing Ye on piano. Unfortunately, Sokolov was unable to come; a Russian, he was unable to obtain a visa in time. Instead, college student Dmitri Pogorelov agreed to come in and play the Mendelssohn in place of Sokolov. Although Pogorelov is a seasoned performer, his performance of the Mendelssohn was not of the highest quality. Technically, he seemed unstable; his G string seemed false, his E string was whistling a lot, and his tone, although good, could be better. The first and second movements were better, but the third movement rushed profusely. He almost lost control he was going so quickly. Dmitri didn't seem to really "put his heart into" his playing either. He seemed disconnected and lacked the strength to play such a powerful concerto. Contracted only a week before the performance, I would say he was downright nervous.
Dmitri was completely shown up by Chinese Sijing-Ye. She performed the lovely Chopin Concerto No. 1 on the piano. It was one of the best performances of the Chopin I have ever heard; technically, Sijing was absolutely sensational. Musically, her playing was remarkably mature, despite the fact that she looked like she was eight. I was pleasantly surprised when she played the concerto with a cute, playful touch. It seemed almost as if she was playing with the conductor.
All in all, it was a highly enjoyable evening. Both performers performed encores and the audience gave both standing ovations. I can guarentee that both (espcially Sijing-Ye) will have successfull futures.

From Natasha Marsalli
Posted on April 1, 2006 at 11:07 PM

Sorry, that wasn't really a good review; I was in a hurry.

From Colleen Russo
Posted on April 2, 2006 at 4:10 AM

It was! That little piano player sounds great!

From Sydney Menees
Posted on April 2, 2006 at 6:40 PM

Thanks Knot ;-) Great review! I don't listen to piano too much. I guess I'll have to start doing that!

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