Word: rhythmically
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Debussy unforgettable was more controversial. It became apparent in Mozart's Dissonant Quartet that the Paganini members have attained refinement at the price of their own individuality. Their overwhelming sense of ensemble--with its attendant precision--robbed the music of linear independence. This produced a curious lack of internal rhythmic drive, although actual tempos never lagged, as the Mozart took on too much polish it became increasingly dull...
...convey the immense sweep of the latter work and yet do justice to episodes of intimate chamber music is the formidable task facing the performers. They must possess not only virtuosity, but a delicate rapport in ensemble; not only forceful rhythmic drives, but the courage (and control) to bring a lengthy phrase to a hushed and protracted close. Mr. and Mrs. kohn seemed aware of the immensity of their task. Much of the playing was brilliant as well as subtle. Yet on the whole, the performances of the Schubert works left too many problems unsolved or only half-heartedly assaulted...
...they seriously detracted from Brahm's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. This work is rarely performed, partly because of its extreme difficulty and partly because it represents a far more abstract approach than the familiar Variations on a Theme by Paganini. Levy's playing lacked the rhythmic urgency needed to keep the Handel set form foundering, in its own intellectual richness. And a lack of clarity first apparent in the swirling Appassionata finale let Brahms' Fugue become a hodge-podge...
...juxtaposition of two works--one from the School of Worcester and the other by Dunstabe--served to point up the great differences between the medieval and Renaissance approach: the former was sturdy and barbaric, the lines being forced into a rhythmic strait-jacket with a witting unconcern for beauty of sound; the latter was smooth and euphonious, with emphasis on serene arches of sophisticated simplicity...
...Cambridge Society for Early Music devoted all three of its concerts this fall to works by Johann Scbastian Bach. In the second concert, Ruth Posselt was the featured soloist in three of the rarely performed Sonatas for violin with harpsichord and continue. I admired especially the rhythmic vitality and sharpness of articulation which she brought to these works. Her dramatic vibrato, however, seemed out of place in the stately declamation of the E major Adagio, while the following Allegro sounded overly stiff, and other occasional nuances of mood were only slightly indicated. Yet within her conception, the performance was minutely...