Juilliard String Quartet 1st in Vanguard ‘double header’ 

By Burt Saidel

A double header in baseball is a normal occurrence.  A double header in the World Series would be unique.  For Dayton’s premiere chamber music series, Vanguard Concerts, the “double header” was much like a World Series event.

The celebrated Juilliard String Quartet was snowed into the frozen East coast last season.  With great effort on all sides, the concert was rescheduled for Sunday afternoon Oct. 14.  

The quartet found a nearly full house at the Art Institute’s magnificent Renaissance Auditorium. Not unlike the Caesar of history, they came, saw and conquered.  

The Juilliard has a long history with Vanguard Concerts. They appeared as the showcase of the first season 46 years ago. Subsequent concerts have always
left the sophisticated Vanguard audience clamoring for more.  

At this concert “more” is exactly what the audience received. By intermission, the buzz of the crowd was, “I’ve never heard them play better.” Perhaps the unusual program lent itself to such superlatives.  I think that the concert’s brilliance deserved such praise.

The program opened with Giuseppe Verdi’s only foray into the string quartet idiom. The work, written in 1873 while the composer was in Cairo preparing a revival of Aida, was a result of inordinate delays in the opera rehearsals. With time on his hands Verdi put it to good use.

Verdi, a meticulous musical craftsman, made maximum use of the potential of the sonorous string instruments. The whole is a bit unfocused, yet the sum of its parts yielded marvelous passages played to perfection.

What followed was one of the most gripping and compelling musical experiences. Dmitri Shostakovich lived his music throughout his tortured life. Beset by political villainy and disease, he transferred this angst into many of his works. Perhaps none
exposes the raw nerves better than his String Quartet No. 13.  

The work, three movements played without pause, features the viola of Samuel Rhodes.  His opening dirge relentlessly introduced the emotionally charged interchange among the instruments.  

There were bright moments, played with élan by the violins, but they were quickly absorbed by the sturm und drang of the totality. Even unusual effects such as tapping on the instrument with the bow seemed completely appropriate.  

The concert closed with welcome relief. Beethoven’s first string quartet still challenges and completely enthralls. A master work played by accomplished masters, the quartet played as if they had approached the work for the first time. The violinists were literally bouncing off their seats in the soaring and spirited passages. It was a perfect blend of maturity well-lathered with youthful enthusiasm.

Amedeo Modiliani String Quartet

A scant five days later, the Vanguard family welcomed the debut of four handsome and very young French musicians, the Amedeo Modigliani Quartet.  Celebrating their first US tour, these virtuosi have garnered prize after prize since their beginning in 2003.  

I expected that the comparison of the two concerts would be a contrast between mature artistry and the effervescent enthusiasm of youth.  From the first notes, the French quartet exhibited a maturity in their sound and in their play which belied their shining and handsome youthfulness.  The sophisticated Vanguard audience realized that this was to be another completely memorable evening.

The concert opened with the Haydn Quartet No. 59, “The Rider.”  Full of clever inventions and subtle musical themes, it was perfectly played to unusual harmonies and changes in dynamics.  The quartet is a beguiling masterpiece spanning the ages with fresh appeal.  

What followed was another milestone.  Maurice Ravel wrote one string quartet, completing it in 1903 to negative Parisian reviews.  Praised by Claude Debussy and recognized immediately by musicians as a masterpiece, the work is a testimony to composer and performing artist.

The four movements are full of sweeping phrases, beautiful song-like passages and lilting dynamic expressions.   Ravel was considered to be a master of orchestration and applied this talent to several works of other composers.  He did, in fact, instruct the young George Gershwin in this art.

In hearing the quartet, the genius of Ravel as an arranger of four voices equals his mastery of the full orchestra.  The instruments blended, contrasted, interacted and even argued with one another with élan and joy.  The music was received with the same joy by the audience.

After intermission, there was yet another rare opportunity for comparison and contrast between our French visitors and the Julliard Quartet. The final work of both concerts was one of Beethoven’s great “Razumovsky” quartets.  The Julliard played No. 1 of the series, the Amadeo Modigliani No. 3.

Again, it was not a contrast of ages or styles.  Each quartet exhibited complete mastery of a great masterwork.  Each quartet left their stamp on the music and on the audience.  

It was a rare privilege.  In retrospect, 46 years of hearing Vanguard Concerts have been a rare privilege.

World Music guitarist performs at UD Oct. 30

Twenty-six-year-old Malian guitarist, songwriter and singer Vieux Farka Touré has been described as “the biggest buzz of the year in world music” (Toronto Star). The son of iconic guitarist and world music superstar Ali Farka Touré (who died in 2006),

Vieux defied his father’s wishes to pursue a musical career—the elder Touré was so embittered by his experience with the music industry that he wanted his son to be a soldier instead. The young guitar virtuoso got his start playing with Toumain Diabaté, the world’s leading kora player, and quickly blossomed into a musician of such staggering talents that his protective father was convinced.

Touré’s first CD, Vieux Farka Touré, was released to universal acclaim earlier this year, has topped the world music charts and was called a “remarkable debut” by Rolling Stone “that mixes the traditional Mali blues of his father with more modern rock and reggae notes.”

The concert will take place in the University of Dayton Boll Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 8 p.m. Cost is $10.

Halloween organ recital Oct. 27

Oakwood resident and musician Kathy Maresca will give a free Fall organ concert at St. Mary’s Church (256-5633), Saturday, Oct. 27, at 5:45 p.m. No other instrument evokes the season of Halloween more than the organ.  Featured will be some very familiar Halloween favorites, by Bach, Gigout and Boëllmann, and some not so familiar organ works of the season.  

The concert will also include a medley of national songs, trumpet ceremonial music by David Johnson, and Air on a G String by Bach. The church is located on Xenia Ave., just east of the intersection of Keowee and Xenia. Free parking in lot across the street. All proceeds of the free will offering go to the church.

Three Musketeers to take stage Oct. 25 - 28

NCR and Dayton Ballet present The Three Musketeers, Oct. 25-28, 2007, at the Victoria Theatre.  Never been to the ballet?  You can’t miss with this one! Dashing good looks, swashbuckling sword fights, spectacular duels hilarity fill the stage with hilarity and adventure in this two-act ballet choreographed by Christopher Fleming.
Grant Dettling, Richard Grund and Justin Michael Koertgen shine with bravado on stage as the infamous and cocky Three Musketeers, with Paul Gilliam as the fool heartedly d’Artagnan and Oren Portefield as the innocent Constance.  Ballet lovers and novices alike will enjoy the storyline, stage combat scenes and good humor with this ballet. “The Three Musketeers is a timeless story of camaraderie in the spirit of brotherhood and is one of the great adventure stories of all time!” says Fleming. “Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, The Three Musketeers is a very unique ballet, combining elements of Classical ballet, Broadway theatrics and the stage combat of an action film.”  A Dayton Ballet premiere, The Three Musketeers, showcases the male dancers of Dayton Ballet, utilizing their physical strength and athleticism—expect to see dynamic leaps and action-packed choreography, typical of Fleming’s energetic style. Add in some romance and passion and you have a ballet that is entertaining for the entire family!  All for one; One for all!

West Side Story at WSU Oct. 25 - Nov. 11

Wright State University Theatre is proud to present the 50th anniversary of the musical West Side Story on the Festival Playhouse stage Oct. 25 to Nov. 11.

A classic story that is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet set on the west side of Manhattan.

The WSU theatre production features Heidi Giberson as Maria and Eric Byrd as Tony. It is directed by Joe Deer.

Tickets are $19 for adults and $17 for students. For more information call 775-2500.

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October 23, 2007
Volume 16, No. 43

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