Word: tempi
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...intimidate Richard Dreyfus in "The Competition," came off worse. Its main weakness was lack of dynamic range--or rather, lack of sensitive dynamic range, as one tended to be awed by Zimerman's ferocious key depth without forgetting the harsh sounds it sometimes produced. A stricter observance of tempi would also have been in order; this was Chopin, not Debussy. In any case the risks he took at high speeds were admirable, and his confident, blind leaps across three octaves are a reproach to showier pianists who conduct their business at unnecessary altitudes above the keyboard. The Three Mazurkas...
...second half of the recital comprised Perahia's magisterial reading of the Schubert C Minor Sonata D. 958. This interpretation was worlds away from the famous hair-sizzling live recording made in Budapest in 1958 (coincidence?) by Sviatoslav Richter-The tempi were less "hell" and more "high water." The beginning of the first movement, phrased to remind us of Beethoven's 32 variations in the same key was the first of many well-executed musical decisions that kept the audience rapt for the entirety of this very long sonata. Peheria was rewarded with three encores...
...somewhat by the lack of humidity, a condition to which the group's rare, expensive instruments are sensitive. Still, they kept some monstrous repeats from being boring, choosing unpredictable phrasings and doing an unforgettable job of blending, without becoming indistinct especially the harder-to-hear viola (Joan Ellersick). The tempi were on the whole a bit shy for Beethoven, but the musicians' attention to detail kept everything tight. The allegro finale was a marvel...
...small crowd was not disappointed, as the virtuosity of the two featured soloists (Joe Lin '00 and Yuki Sekino '99) proved to be irreproachable. Lin gave the fifth Mozart Violin Concerto and, due to the inferior quality of the ensemble, was forced to take everything down a notch. Tempi lagged but, on the other hand, the winds were wonderful in the andante. John Allanbrook '99, a musical jack-of-all-trades, elicited a deliberate, score--fixated performance from his musicians-perhaps not so surprising since the concert came off after only a handful of rehearsals. It will surprise few that...
...concert also featured Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, that phylanstery of complex chromatic chords. While this piece showed off Allanbrook's technique to advantage, the performance suffered from major intonation problems. The tempi were questionable, but the reading cohered, if quirkily, and the ambition was impressive given the forces available...