July 2003 - Nr. 7
Brahms Violin Concerto given enlightening lift
by violinist Joshua Bell
and the TSO
The young American violinist Joshua Bell is quite a musician
to hear and see. This early June evening, he transplanted the audience to
view a take a peek into the life of Brahms with his Violin Concerto in D
major. Written for the renowned Joseph Joachim, the 55 year old Brahms
attempted the composition of this work 20 years after his first attempt at a
concerto, one to show his pianistic abilities. The violin concerto was a
little more daunting as it was written for an instrument he did not play.
Bell was in strong control of this piece and the orchestra moved with his at every pace. The first two movements follow Brahms’ mood of playful lilting, which Bell accentuated by his own first movement cadenza and body movement. He seemed to be moving a little too much for my taste, however one truly notices, without a doubt, the musicianship that oozes from his being. The slow second movement was introspective enough to calm the audience but also keeping the notion that thought and beautiful ease work hand in hand. And one could hardly mistake the energetic gypsy inspired third movement that kept the audience on the edge of our seats.
Unfortunately for us, there was no encore performance, simply an audience left with a sense that they had witnessed a beautiful, magnetic, musical performance.
Comments to: ekuehn@echoworld.com
