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Star turn, (as usual)
Less-known Beethoven and Dohnanyi
Sunday, October 2, 2005
By A. Michael NollMostly Music. Ani Kavafian (violin), Carter Brey (cello) with guests Carol Wincenc (flute) and Paul Neubauer (viola). Vivaldi: Trio in G minor; Debussy: Syrinx; Beethoven: Serenade for flute, violin and viola in D major, op. 25; Dohnanyi: Serenade in C major, op. 10. First United Methodist
Church, Westfield.Debussy's Syrinx, though short, is one of the greatest pieces for unaccompanied flute, with its mystical and deep sonorities. I have a treasured mono LP of the work performed by Julius Baker (the past principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic), mostly worn out from repeated playing. Carol Wincenc played the piece as well as Baker, and without the exaggerated vibrato that inflicts so many of today's flutists. Her pure tone, so perfectly phrased, was a joy not only in Syrinx but in Vivaldi and the Beethoven too.
We have come to expect stunning performances from the Mostly Music series, which could be billed as "Ani, Carter, and friends." All the musicians who perform in this series are spectacular, and this concert was no exception.
The Beethoven Serenade was new to me, but it was delightful, almost Mozartean in its playfulness. This was happy Beethoven, although he was already starting to lose his hearing. Wincenc, violinists Ani Kavafian, and cellist Carter Brey clearly enjoyed playing this too rarely-performed lighthearted piece. After the intermission, Kavafian, Brey, and violist Paul Neubauer played the Dohnanyi Serenade with flawless precision.
Kavafian announced that Edgar Meyer, a distinguished double bass player and composer, will join Mostly Music for their February concert next year. His will be a welcome return, for many will not have forgotten his last appearance when some of his Appalachian-influenced music for violin, cello, and bass was played. Mostly Music needs to pay more attention to American composers, and we hope this step in that direction becomes a trend.
The concert was interrupted by Kavafian's plea to the audience member with a hearing aid in acoustic feedback to please silence it. The high-pitched noise was audible to all. It is disturbing that the technology of cell phones, digital watches, pagers, and even hearing aids continues to pollute the acoustic environment of a concert.
CDs of works performed by the musicians in the concert: Kavafian and Neubauer play the Beethoven (with Ransom Wilson on flute) on Delos #3177 and Neubauer can be heard in the Dohnanyi on Delos #3151.