MQOD
February 10th, 2010 by Patty
Daniel Matsukawa’s rich tone suggested there’s a trombone hidden inside his bassoon.
-David Patrick Stearns (reviewer)
(I read it here.)
Archive for the 'Reviews' Category
Can Someone Explain?
February 1st, 2010 by Patty
Is this a joke?:
In his spoken remarks after intermission, McWilliam explained that the Barber work was subbed for the Carter because of a Homeland Security issue, without going into the details. (Are TSA officers now doubling as critics?) Though a bit less pristine, the rendering of Summer Music brought out the lyric languor as well as the vivacity.
I’m going to guess that hornist McWilliam was making a joke, but who knows?
You can read the entire review of the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet here.
Uh-oh
January 6th, 2010 by Patty
A pity, then, that finesse slipped a bit in the concert’s second half. Various ailments afflicted portions of Mozart’s Symphony No 29. The most virulent was the common peril of period instrument performances: sour intonation. Sometimes, in the middle movements, the exposed first oboe gave a reasonable impersonation of a chicken in pain.
Oh dear. Reviewers sometimes have a way with words, don’t they?
Yay, Pam!
December 8th, 2009 by Patty
Pam Hakl, my friend and colleague, got a deservedly wonderful review:
She was superb: agile, lyrical, sprightly, in cool command of her instrument, sometimes drawing a note from a vanishing point and growing it into something plump and ravishing. Prutsman, who played harpsichord here, set the pulse and overall tone for the performance, which was especially good in the first movement — a real dance, radiant and alive.
You can read the entire review here.
And NOW … Get to know Pam even more, by clinking on the link and reading Beth Zare’s article in the examiner! Cool, huh? :-)
Stockton Symphony Review
September 26th, 2009 by Patty
… includes this:
The orchestra’s well-played ebb and flow in the opening “Palermo” movement gave way to the piece’s short second movement, depicting “Tunis” in North Africa, which is almost entirely an oboe solo accompanied by softly percussive strings. Here, principal oboist Thomas Nugent’s performance of Ibert’s none-too-subtle exoticism was skillful and expressive.
I always enjoy seeing other oboists get great reviews. Congrats, Tom! (Tom and I have worked together, although not recently. Busy lives and all that.)
(Read here.
Manon Review #4
September 14th, 2009 by Patty
Here is one from Axel Feldheim (not his real name) at Not For Fun Only.
He has a vivid imagination! … a bear?! ;-)
Manon Review #3
September 13th, 2009 by Patty
Richard Scheinin’s Mercury News Review. (The least favorable so far.)
Reviews
September 1st, 2009 by Patty
Three reviews for San Jose Chamber Orchestra. I’m even mentioned in one. (And it forced me to get out my dictionary, too.)
But What Did He Really Think?
August 13th, 2009 by Patty
Janos Gereben didn’t write for a paper, as far as I know, but the opera list provides his thoughts. Just a snippet:
Surely, a “concept-opera” that abandons the concept in the intermission burned up its meager ideas too soon… or came to its senses. Still, consistency is valued by most people.
Just short of the primitive, juvenile carnality of another Mozart-Merola misfit, the 2002 “La finta giardiniera,” this “Cosi” is of the same mold: not trusting either the composer or the audience to make it on their own, without the constant interruption and diversion by the director.
Wouldn’t hiring a couple of audience members to keep coughing through the work be cheaper and more expeditious?
Two More Reviews
August 11th, 2009 by Patty
Joshua Kosman gives us his take, as does Jason Victor Serinus. You will read some differing views on some things, while they agree on others. (Guess that’s sort of typical, right?) Mr. Kosman was at Friday night’s performance, while Mr. Serinus when to Sunday’s. On the whole I liked Sunday’s better, but that’s probably because I base everything on my own performance. I’m just that self-centered!