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RECORD GUIDE: March/April 1999 There's more to Bartok's music than meets the eye -- or the ear. Nowadays the debt he owed to recording technology as far back as 1905 (when he first met Zoltan Kodaly) is little more than a dim memory, save for a handful of scholars and his most ardent devotees. But Bartok was a devoted collector relying on wax cylinders to record and study thousands of indigenous Eastern European folk tunes. Indeed, in his effort to codify in music the diatonic constructions of the gypsy and peasant cultures of Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Romania he elevated the natural charms of a backwoods genre to high art. It is fitting that the very technology that played midwife to Bartok's melismatic exoticisms now offers an ideal format for their realization. In her exhaustive survey of his complete piano works (these are the first three out of seven CDs), June de Toth proves herself a smart, solid, and reliable pianist. She offers thoughtful and often eloquent readings that reject both hysteria and the kind of kamikaze approach of so many young piano lions. Its overall sobriety and discipline is such that the music speaks for itself. In the wistful 'Street of Istvand', for example, or in the rugged yet oddly seductive sailor song 'In the Harbor of Nagyvarad', her no-nonsense surefootedness gives ample voice to Bartok's nostalgic melancholia. Indeed, in these works, part of the 42 Hungarian Folk Songs for Children, she fathoms each as a kind of apposite gestuary of hemiolas and unnerving hesitations, and as the stuff of musical speech. If Bartok was Hungary's answer to Moussorgsky, nowhere is it more evident than here. Capturing the essentially trochaic inflections of Hungarian speech with the knowing temperament of a native (Ms de Toth is full blood Hungarian) she lays out the keyboard songs with the patrician air of an old storyteller at a family gathering. Whatever one's ideas and taste may be in interpretation of Bartok, her performances are persuasive. Take particular note of her attractive readings of the 14 Bagatelles: these she portrays with a kind of arid simplicity that enhances their now playful, now lonely ethos. This set would make an ideal introduction to Bartok's piano music, especially if you are still unfamiliar with the bulk of it. These are urbane, honest, eminently intelligible interpretations that will draw the uninitiated into the texts of this extraordinarily rich music. YOUNG * * * Santa
Fe Symphony appearance: ''Bartók's Third Piano Concerto, with guest
soloist June De Toth, would bring raves anywhere. She injected driving
energy into the first movement exposition, and the lamentation and tragic
impression soloist and orchestra brought out of the slow movement had
a memorable intensity. De Toth clearly strengthened her reputation as
an interpreter of Bartók.'' The Albuquerque Journal Santa Fe Symphony
appearance: "June De Toth played Bela Bartók's Third Piano Concerto
forcefully, accurately, and easily, as if its difficulties were her
delight! The balance of orchestra and piano, and the intricate ensemble
playing were fine throughout.'' Lisbon: "A magnificent evening. We've never heard a more perfect interpretation of Bartók's extremely difficult Sonata 1926. One has to be great to do it.'' Jornal Do Noticias Madrid:
"June de Toth's concert was the biggest musical event of the season.
Marvelous nuances from pianissimo to fortissimo." Carnegie
Hall debut: "Her interpretations gave an impression of technical
skill and experience, along with musicality of tone and dynamic discretion.
Outspoken energy was limited to music which called for it, such as the
vigorous episodes of the Bartók Sonata. She played the Chopin Nocturne
in D-flat, Opus 2 7, No. 2 with engaging Iyricism of tone and atmosphere.'' Belgrade:
"Pianist June de Toth displayed a very strong musical personality.
Her performance of the Brahms Second Piano Concerto was of the highest
quality; a marvelous association of physical beauty and professional
capacity." Salzburg:
"The Brahms Second Piano Concerto was interpreted magnificently,
with ease and power which were incredible." Santa
Fe: ''She displayed imposing technique and profound musicianship in
Bartók's Piano Sonata. Her performance was powerful and eloquent. Rounded
tones emphasized the music's profound relationship to Liszt and other
19th century composers, without losing the dark fire and the alternative
concept of tonal beauty that is the core of Bartók 's genius."
Santa
Fe: "June De Toth has made a solid reputation here as a superb
interpreter of the Romantics and of contemporary works. Her performance
of Bartóks' Sonata 1926 was a model of clarity and conciseness coupled
with a strong conviction that she was weighing each note perfectly for
its place in the whole." Santa
Fe: "Her Debussy-Bartók recital at St. John 's College was a revelation.
From a purely virtuosic standpoint, her performance was staggering.
A powerful musical personality, coupled with her prodigious technique,
resulted in an exciting, satisfying evening'' San
Francisco:''Her playing looks effortless, coming from the shoulders
and arms. Her Debussy-Bartók recital left no doubt about her fluency
and power. A prodigious technique.'' Paris:
"She gave a clear vision of the eternity of the great Gods of music:
Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Ravel, and Bartók. June De Toth possesses a
marvelous technique. She made a clear distinction between the styles
of Beethoven and Bartók.'' Stereophile,
June 1996 Peter Murano, Classical Net In these two Eroica discs, which preserve performances by the only female artist that I know of currently recording Bartók, we are provided an excellent manifestation of the composer's imagination. Volume one includes Bartók's Seven Sketches, Sonata 1926, Fifteen Hungarian Peasant Songs and Dances, Four Dirges, and Allegro Barbaro, while the second volume contains Suite, Op. 14, Forty-two Hungarian Folksongs, and Three Burlesques. Hungarian-American pianist June de Toth, who studied with Gulda and Firkusny, confesses a spiritual affinity to Bartók, and her sympathetic approach offers a pleasing and successful tribute to a composer famous for incorporating folk material into his compositions. Bartók didn't merely visit the peasants and gypsies for musical inspiration; he took his shoes off, rolled up his sleeves, and "got dirty" to the point where he didn't want to return home. In her interpretations, de Toth reveals the "earthiness" of much of this music, as well as its secret personality. Consider de Toth's handling of the Poco Lento on track seventeen of volume one. Without resorting to the headlong savagery favored by some pianists, de Toth is nonetheless uncannily good at creating the bell-like chords (reminiscent of Rachmaninov's c# Minor Prelude) so crucial to the powerful development of the image of this miniature tone poem. Bartók was a master of rhythm and vitality, and mixed them well in a 20th century blender to concoct his catchy folk tunes and dances. Pianist de Toth herself proves to be an artful combiner, measuring requisite proportions of color, warmth, and energy in these pieces. The Three Burlesques falls strangely on the ear coming after the folksongs, yet de Toth is compelling here, as well as in the spell-casting episodes called Four Dirges. The pianist seemed to add a lyrical turn now and then to the weight and elemental drive of the Sonata, which I found contributed to the ambivalence of the piece. De Toth's shaping of the Sonata, one of this century's masterpieces for piano, offers an interesting alternative to the highly recommended versions recorded by Kocsis, Arrau and Richter. The Seven Sketches are brief and personal portraits, which de Toth characterizes with idiomatic phrasing and subtle shading. The third portrait alone is worth the price of the disc, owing to its ripe musicality. The digital sound quality of each disc is rather close, yet very fine. To conclude, these two Eroica discs deliver a balanced view of a composer who could define subtle musical mysteries as easily as he could head-banging primitivism. That variety of expression, being so finely conceived initially by Bartók and interpreted with insight and compassion by pianist de Toth, should offer grounds for deeper exploration and appreciation of Bartók by the general listener. Recommended. Available from Eroica Classical Recordings - Peter Murano ________________________________________________ AMERICAN
RECORD GUIDE January/February 1999 Although I played in a very good brass quartet as a graduate student, the medium doesn't hold much attraction for me today. Most quartets are pairs of trumpets and trombones; they have a rather thin sound and meager literature, as opposed to the much fuller sound and richer literature of the brass quintet. But I was won over by this excellent disc. The Washington DC-based quartet has a terrific sound, first-rate musicianship, and excellent technical skills. Those unfamiliar with standard brass quartet literature (almost everyone) would profit from hearing NBV's superb readings of Wilhem Ramsoe's virtuoso Quartet 5 (1888), Edmund Haine's spiky Toccata (1949), Arthur Frackenpohl's whimsical Quartet (1950), and Walter Hartley's miniature character pieces in Solemn Music (1968). I love NBV's mellow way with Douglas Lemmon's setting of John Dowland's 'Come Again, Sweet Love'. Dave Thomas's arrangement of three Edward MacDowell songs is a soft and sentimental interlude. Of the three new works, Steve Scott's Quartet (1995) is the most interesting. Composed for NBV in 1995, it opens with a very attractive, Copland-flavored I. A pensive II has lovely horn and euphonium solos accompanied by muted trumpets, while III is angular and forceful. Peter Graham's Timepiece (1994) is the sort of light, tuneful fare he writes for British brass bands, while Peter Sander's Anecdotes (1993) offers six brief and not very memorable ditties. The members of Nothing But Valves are trumpeters Andrew Wilson and William Adcock, hornist Samuel Compton, and euphonium player Lance LaDuke. Recorded sound is fine. KILPATRICK ________________________________________________ AMERICAN
RECORD GUIDE: May/June 1999 These are concert recordings from the 1993 Manchester Festival, founded in 1974 by the musical team of Eugene List and Carroll Glenn, both deceased. But their festivala goes on - quite well if these recordings are any indicator. Given the capriciousness of major companies in recording or not recording any but the biggest of box office attractions, the idea of musical organizations like this one producing their own recordings is gaining in acceptance. This disc should further the process, since it is an attractive job in all prospects. Beethoven's Triple Concerto-that strange but compelling hybrid of piano trio, solo concerto, concerto grosso, and symphony-gets an attractive, sensible performance. I'm not sure I would set aside my Oistrakh-Rostropovich-Richter/ Karajan (EMI) or even my old monaural Bruno Walter (Sony) in its favor, but it is quite enjoyable on its own terms and maintains its interest with repeated hearings. The three soloists are an admirable team, and they and the orchestra complement each other nicely. The (chamber) orchestra plays handsomely, and conductor Gilbert (Greenwich Symphony, Manhattan School) sets a logical pace and keeps the work on track from start to finish. The Mozart Quintet is also a very attractive performance, with both power and grace. The music is Mozart at his best: bold, lyrical, powerful. The lovely slow movement is played with lyric beauty and attractive tone. The minuet is done at a sensible tempo, unhurried and graceful. The lively finale brings the work to a satisfying conclusion. Sound in both works is clean, balanced, and fully listenable, with only applause at the end of each piece to remind us of the presence of the audience. The packaging is attractive. The notes cover the festival and the artists, but say nothing of the music-a mistake when the disc will presumably be offered to future festival goers, many of whom will not be seasoned music goers with shelves of reference material to draw on. A final quibble: no bands between movements. But I enjoyed the program despite these minor reservations, and I recommend it to you. MC CLAIN ________________________________________________ AMERICAN
RECORD GUIDE: May/June 1999 This is the second anthology of songs and chamber music by Ron McFarland-a genial Californian pianist and composer who studied with Arnold Schoenberg-to come my way. A song cycle on Cavafy poems and a string quartet were on the first disc (Con Molto 94001), Sept/Oct 1997). Like them, the offerings on this new program are fairly old-fsahioned-though it should be added that McFarland employes a range of styloes in different works. He makes a point of this in Les Hommages Preludes, an enjoyable 50-minute set of 24 preludes "in the manner of" 12 different composers. The Con Molto disc mentioned above includes the complete Hommages: this new disc tosses in a handful ("after" Satie, Liszt, and Ravel) as fillers. The main items here are a Trio (for flute, harp, and viola), a violin sonata, Four Songs in Blue, for soprano and piano, and Lear and Cordelia, a setting of excerpts from King Lear for two speakers accompanied by a chamber ensemble of winds, percussion, and harp. The three-movement Trio is a charmer: nicely crafted in a Gallic-inspired mode (with echoes of Ravel, Poulenc, and many another Frenchman), this is a sensuous, harmonically rich, and timbrally luscious creation. It gets a loving performance, vividly recorded before a well-behaved (ie, silent until they applaud) audience. Also very well performed and recorded is McFarland's recent Four Songs in Blue on texts (included in the notes) by Patrick Emery Carr, a poet who wrote lyrics for Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez, among others. The music is appropriately popular in idiom, and listeners who respond to this genre will no doubt appreciate the romantic sentiment and Sara Ganz's expressive singing. McFarland's 1972 Violin Sonata is made of sterner stuff, and it's a much more dissonant and edgy piece expressing darker and more complex emotions. Its avatars are such German early-Moderns as Zemlinsky, Eisler, and Schoenberg in his late-tonal phase, though even here McFarland's love of vernacular music comes through in the finale, with it fixation on waltz-rhythms. The impact of this well-made but difficult Sonata-my favorite work on the program-is somewhat compromised by patches of rough playing and an only so-so recording. I can't help wishing violinist Lisa Lhee and pianist Dmitriy Cogan-both clearly excellent players, genuinely involved with the music-had had the chance to make a more polished studio recording of the piece. Last and (at 26 minutes) longest is McFarland's mini-opera based on the Lear-Cordelia relationship in King Lear. The music is modest, accompanimental, and-as it should be-subservient to the larger-than-life storms and heartbreaking torments of this magniloquent tragedy. It doesn't begin to do justice to Shakespeare's words-but then what music could? LEHMAN ________________________________________________ PIANO
AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE: May/June 1999 Although I'm inclined to admire any artist who shares jacket-photo spread with a cat, Jennifer Tao has more than exemplary taste in furry friends to commend her. This is evident immediately from the Medtner that opens the disc and impresses with Tao's febrile and persuasive sense of rubato. Her tone is rich and unforced, with chordings that pile up sonorously in climactic passages. The Beethoven leaves a more equivocal impression, its opening ostinato uncertain and skittish. Though Tao's fingerwork is generally fleet, the exposition unfolds in episodic and percussive fashion. The development section is more engaging, as the central motive cell chases its tail through the piano's registers, building to an exciting, propulsive coda. The laconic slow movement unfolds fitfully, in short-breathed phrases. The finale does flow confidently and with a sense of grand design. The principal theme chimes brightly in Tao's right hand, augmented with runs and trills, the sonata finishing in a charming scamper. It's all rather "Waldstein meets Flight of the Bumblebee" but quite exciting. The Concord Sonata extract doesn't lack for intensity, but one does miss the deep, legato stroke of Gilbert Kalish (Nonesuch). Also, in Tao's hands, the reiterations of the motto from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony-an Ivesian idee fixe-emerge with more clangor than majesty. The square accentuation of the Scarlatti is partly redeemed by Tao's crystalline trills and voice-leadings, while the Ravel moves forward with a jagged, impatient undertow (which I like) and big washes of color. Liszt's 'Wallenstadt Lake', scene of lotus-eating dalliances with Marie D'Agoult, laps beguilingly in Tao's left hand. If the statement of the main theme is unromantically matter-of-fact, it subsides meltingly into the coda. Romanticism of the upper-case sort seems to be Tao's bag, judging from the febrility that also marks her reading of the Chopin, particularly evident in the quiet passion of the B section. This erupts into volleys of runs, then manic accelerandos and a provocatively crazed repprise of the Ballade's waltz tune. Ending with descending octaves of crushing finality, the coda owns the desperation that Chopin's music demands. MCKEE ________________________________________________ "I
found Mr. Després's interpretations very refreshing. I also was quite
satisfied with the selections on the CD. While there may be a temptation
to explore his "dark side", the music featured on this disc
lean more to the "spiritual" Liszt. I have a feature called
"The Midnight Lullaby", and I am anxious to play at least
3 of these selections for that slot." "This
delightful new album from Eroica Classical Recordings features lovely,
sensitive interpretations of the music of Franz Liszt and Modest Musorgsky,
by the young Canadian pianist, Jacques Despres. His Liszt selections,
En Reve and Abschied, based on a Russian folk tune, were rendered with
delicate, subtle playing." Kip Allen, Program Director, on "Something's
New" KHFM Classical 96FM, Albuquerque, NM "Jacques Després
has developed a smooth and flexible technique which can handle just
about any problem Liszt devised." Eric McLean, "The Gazette",
Montreal "He immediately showed that he is a Bartok player after
the composer's own heart. Despres played with imagination and incisive,
accurate rhythm, but he always brought out the singing quality in the
music. It's that mixture of beautiful song and singing dissonance that
makes Bartok's music so memorable, and Despres' performance was also
memorable." Leslie Gerber, "Woodstock Times" "Already
possessor of an excellent technique, Jacques Despres went even further
in the knowledge and science of his instrument, which bestows him with
pianistic means of the first order. The pianistic control is impeccable,
the sonority magnificent, and the playing is of utmost and constant
clarity." Marc Samson, "le Soleil", Quebec "After
the Egmont Overture, the audience listened to the Emperor Concerto rendered
in a sovereign fashion. This Beethoven masterpiece requires from the
performer great sensitivity and power, which we find in Despres."
Levis, Canada "Few major pianists have given equally convincing
performances of Beethoven and Chopin. The ability to play one composer's
music very well seems almost to preclude doing as well with the other.
But Despres proved an exception to this rule." Leslie Gerber, "Woodstock
Times" "He once more revealed himself an artist of refined
taste, quivering sensitivity, intelligence, and discipline, through
which filter a love of music-making. He is a willful interpreter of
undeniable insight--the possessor of a sure and at times stunning technique
who never wants to only dazzle." ________________________________________________ Bach's Cello Suites are "blueprints for cellists of all generations," writes Yehuda Hanani in his introduction to this recording. There are more than 20 editions of them, "all claiming the mantle of truth," but the problems posed by four divergent manuscripts, none by Bach himself, all riddled with inaccuracies, as well as the absence of original bowings, dynamics, and tempo indications, give performers both the liberty and the responsibility "to make their own edition with each performance." Of the literally innumerable recordings of the Suites, Hanani's is one of the most interesting and exciting. His copious program notes reflect his approach, combining a rigorous structural and harmonic analysis with poetic allusions to literature, mythology, philosophy, art, nature, and life. His playing communicates both a scholarly and a passionately personal relationship with the music. He emphasizes contrast of character , mood, texture, dynamics, and articulation and regards repeats as an "opportunity to illuminate the music from different angles" with ornaments and unusual effects like pizzicato chords. He plays with great sweep, freedom, and inwardness, fearlessly taking technical and emotional risks. The fast movements can get rugged, even rough, from sheer spontaneous vigor and exuberance; the Preludes are true improvisations, the slow movements deeply expressive. "The wonders of Bach are inexhaustible," Hanani writes. With his imagination, thoughtfulness, emotional integrity, and scrupulous execution, he has revealed them in a fresh light. - Edith Eisler in Strings June 1998 "Throughout the disc the playing by Hanani and Levin is of the highest quality. Hanani's intonation is well centered and the partnership is ideally balanced, while the recording -- presumably made in America -- is quite outstanding." - David Denton in The Strad "Breadth, vitality, richness and beautifully centered quality of tone production, uniform across all four strings. There is absolute security of intonation as he moves this gorgeous sound with effortless portamento, carrying the most sensitively sculptured phrases. Nowhere does he permit his phrasing and line to become mechanical. An intensely human heart beats behind every pulse of this music." - Buffalo Evening News "In this era of the cello, Hanani is among the best. His Bach was absorbing, imaginative, beautiful in all respects." - San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle "Spectacular pyrotechnics." - Los Angeles Times "One of the most polished performers of the post-Starker generation, and a consistently expressive artist." - The New York Times "Hanani is a virtuoso with an astoundingly resonant tone to match...phenomenal bowing technique..." - Washington Post "Splendid, impassioned playing." - London Daily Telegraph "He is such a master of his instrument in every way that this critic can only express wonderment at such talent." - Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin) "Cellist
Yehuda Hanani and pianist Michael Levin bring all the warmth and poetry
one can yearn for to Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata and to other works
for cello and piano by Schumann and Schubert. Hanani is a very personal
cellist, who in tandem with Levin's tender and robust piano playing
brings beauty and charm to these pieces." "Time
was when a new classical CD by a South Florida artist or ensemble was
a novelty. Today, they come in batches.
This
month, the count is five new albums - two spotlighting veteran South
Florida pianist Michele Levin, who collaborates on different labels
with a pair of distinguished colleagues: cellist Yehuda Hanani and Florida
Philharmonic principal bassoonist Luciano Magnanini. There are also
CDs by the Miami Choral Society; composer Fredrick Kaufman, dean of
Florida Interriational University's School of Music; and a "Fats"
Waller tribute of piano transcriptions from the University of Miami's
Paul Posnak. Levin,
who has lived in South Florida for decades and frequently performs solo
recitals and chamber music here, entered Philadelphia's Curtis Institute
at 11. There, she studied piano, of course, and she became the only
woman to earn a master's degree in.*composition from the famed S&01. When
Igor Stravinsky con- ducted excerpts from Petrouchka here in 1967, it
was Levin who played the formidable piano solo. Since those far-off
days, she has developed a notable career collaborating with musicians
like violinists Ruggiero Ricci and Joseph Silverstein. Recently, her
husband, a physician, joined the staff of a major New York hospital,
and Levin will soon move to the Big Apple - where she hopes to rev up
her career. With
Hanani, the Israeli-American cellist whose Close Encounters With Music
series opens next weekend at Hollywood's Art and Culture Center and
Coral Gables' Biltmore Hotel, Levin plays Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata
in the big style, with great reflection and breadth. In Hanani's transcription
for cello of Schubert's Sonatina No. I for violin and piano, her widely
spaced phrasing and the cellist's luxuriant, full-throated tone are
a balm to the ear. The pair also project the ardor and lyricism of Schumann's
Fantasy Pieces and dig deep beneath the notes of his five seldom-heard
Stuecke im Volston. Magnanini,
whose fluent, thoughtful bassoon solos are among the major pleasures
of Florida Philharmonic concerts, makes a worthy contribution, too,
with a set of neoclassical pieces that benefit from the :rounded warmth
of his tone and Levin's incisive inflections. Each piece, though not
a major work by its composer, offers pleasant listening. But don't hear
them in succession. In mood and style they're too blandly similar. The
gracious Dutileux Sarabande and Cortege is extremely attractive and
masterfully crafted, as is Castelnuo- vo-Tedesco's Sonatina, though
it hints at the genetic film music he churned out for Hollywood. Longo,
an Italian scholar-composer who cataloged Scarlatti keyboard sonatas,
was, according to this bassoon suite, also an academic classicist when
composing. ________________________________________________
"Mr. Slapin...made the works sound like they were originally written for the viola. He has that dash and smoothness that many an older violist would envy...More power for the extraordinary musicianship of Scott Slapin. May his investigative talents present us with equal creativity in the near future."
"It is an impressive accomplishment to perform these works on the viola. The demands they make on the left hand are great enough when they are played on the more compact violin, but Slapin plays them with no sign of strain at all, perfect intonation...and a pure, unforced tone. I am mightily impressed."
"This cd reaffirms my belief that many of the best recordings come from independent record labels... Slapin's sensitive interpretations are the reason for the success of this recording. The famous Chaconne from Partita No. 2 is extraordinary. It evokes emotion in a way that is not common for me; a truly remarkable interpretation. The articulation of the fast movements is excellent, his intonation is perfect and his use of dynamic variation on repeated phrases is a nice interpretive touch. This is a highly recommended recording that I hope many will discover and treasure, as I have."
"Scott's performance is outstanding, and the interpretation is tasteful. I like this recording better than many of my violin versions."
“An absolutely stunning and gorgeous album of works for viola— breathtaking musicianship and emotional delivery, this is an album of remarkable stylistic diversity.”
“The Leclair Sonata No. 1 for 2 violas with Tanya Solomon on viola II has some wonderful sonorities…the Bach Suite no. 1 reveals a good sense of style…the Richard Lane (is) well played by the two performers (Ms. Rosenblum at the piano)...intriguing music for viola... we can look forward to more CDs from this talented artist in the future.
"Slapin's Triptych is an enjoyable addition to the small repertoire for a trio of lower strings. It is beautifully written for the instruments, avoiding any impression of heaviness, and its witty finale, The Hassid and the Hayseed, cleverly combines American folk fiddle and klezmer elements."
"This is an impressive set for the strong musicality of it all and the difficult music played so well... his sound is robust and resonant and the interpretations most musical. What... comes across is Mr. Slapin's ever-present musicality and his wide breadth of conceptions... These CDs contain many lovely moments."
"Slapin has a rich resonant sound and phrases magisterially."
"His own composition, 'Triptych' is a charming work, imbued with a string folk element and strong rhythmic dance-like features (these would be a delightful addition to any viola recital)." ________________________________________________ Virtuoso
is not a strong enough term to describe the performance of flutist Donna
Wissinger, who is not only highly skilled in the technique of playing
the flute, but she also has a capability to infuse the music with a
soaring spirit of expression that goes far beyond technique. Her
performances of Bach, Telemann and Handel are evocative of the spirited,
lyrical melodies associated with the Baroque period, when, according
to Wissinger, the flute was a very popular instrument. "I
wish I could say that it was because they were so enlightened they thought
the flute was the voice of God," says Wissinger. "But that
just isn't so. The real reason is because the king, Frederick the Great,
played the flute, and when the king plays the flute, everybody plays
the flute." Donna
Wissinger's talent is not limited to the concert stage. She plays professional
tennis on the U.S. Tennis Association circuit, and is a USPTA teaching
professional. She has bicycled from New York City to Miami (exceptional
training for a wind instrument!) and is a competitive runner. Her athleticism
is evident in her performance, as she accompanies each flute piece with
sweeping, rhythmic dance movements. She
has studied in Salzburg, Munich, and New York City. She has performed
five tours of Europe and Russia, and 12 tours of the United States.
She is a proud member of Florida's Artist Residency Program, which brings
music to schools in the state. Donna
has just completed recording her first CD on the Eroica Classical Recordings
label. The Daily Sun. "Amazing
Grace, An American Tapestry," the newly released CD from intemationally
renowned concert flutist Donna Wissinger'is an exciting work that makes
a gentle but persistent demand of the listener. Just listen. Inspiring
artistic expression A
welcome collection of American music beautifully and expertly played... "Amazing
Grace" costs a spell and lives up to Its title PRESS
QUOTES "No
production should be without an on-stage Miss Wissinger. "
- The New York Times "...
a flutist of rare gifts. Miss Wissinger played beautifully, shaping
her phrases elegantly and producing a sound that was both sinuous and
sweet. One hopes to hear her again soon..." - The New York Times a
soaring spirit of expression that goes far beyond technique ....
- The Daily Sun "...a
consummate professional. Miss Wissinger has not only great musical and
technical abilities but also a tremendous facility for making any audience
feel a part of the performance." - Allied Concert Services Her
gifts and abilities as a flutist are rare and compelling. I am
greatly impressed by her beautiful sound, exciting musicality, and
captivating presence. " - Jean-Pierre Rampal ........
a great artist with great warmth ...... a tremendous stage personality.
real Renaissance person." - Mid-Western Tour "...a
star. Miss Wissinger has the sound and the rhythmic vitality of the
very best. " - Lavrov, Director Capella Leningrad, USSR ________________________________________________ Equal
Temperament Percussion Duo Percussive
Arts Society - Percussive Notes For
their new CD, the percussion duo Equal Temperament has selected a program
that reflects a broad spectrum of musical parameters and sonic resources. Jeffrey
Peyton's "Rivermusic" and Thomas Brett's "Flyers Fall"
are showcases for the mallet-keyboard percussion instruments and are
both earmarked by a striking rhythmic vitality. Rhythm
also plays a significant role in David Jarvis's "Digga digga digga
digga digga digga digga digga DEE-GOT!" (The title represents a
"phonetic representation" of the theme executed by each percussionist
utilizing a multi-percussion setup). Erik
Santos' "Zauberkraft" and "Sun Dogs" are both inspired
by the mystical poetry of Ranier Maria Rilke and are original musical
statements that push the executants to their technical limits. Jeffrey
Peyton's "The Final Precipice" is a dramatic, exhilarating
piece for computer-generated tape and five timpani. The
fact that four of the six works on the CD were commissioned by Equal
Temperament brings to mind the fact that a healthy symbiotic relationship
between good composers and performers continues to be a major factor
in the advancement of percussion music as a viable musical art form.
- John R. Raush ________________________________________________ "Artist
renders superb performance ... Impeccable credentials, inspired
selections, and flawless execution." - Kathleen Lindstrom
NEWS REVIEW ________________________________________________ "She's
absolutely a wonderful musician ... She's brought something from another
life." - Oxana Yablonskaya, renowned concert pianist, Professor of the
Juilliard School (Boston Globe; January 11, 1998).
"A
very young pianist who plays like an adult concert performer with intelligence
and a fabulous technique for such a young age. Brilliant, expressive
interpreter of all styles from Bach to Schumann..." - Professor
Luigi Mostacci, the principal of Piano Department at the Conservatoro,
G.B.Martini di Bologna.
________________________________________________ "a musical sorcerer who captivated the audience's fullest attention" - Salt Lake Tribune |