Ensemble communication is keenly observed and heightened by their embarkation on an adrenaline-boosting adventure. Their sense of being one body of virtuosic soloists results in a emotionally honed and finely articulated sound under the inspired direction of Masaaki Suzuki. The concentration is intense but the mood remains infectiously congenial.
True to the programme notes, Suzuki’s emphasis is on highlighting J. S. Bach’s vigour, his intelligence and lyrical sensibilities. While an evening with J. S. Bach might otherwise have been as exciting as stirring porridge, the audience were treated to an emotional rollercoaster. Suzuki accentuates the variously witty and empathetic conversations between parts with pointed and balletic direction while remaining respectful of the talent of his student troupe.
Every item was a winner: the attacking momentum of the Overture, and the lilting conversation between violins and woodwinds in Gavotte and Forlane from the Orchestral Suite No 1 in C major; the exquisitely suspended harmonic tensions in the Air from the Orchestral Suite No 3 in D major; the vocal agility, strength, control, colour and emotional impact of soprano Rebecca Farley’s Ich habe genug.
The same work also gave the only disappointment of the evening. The failure of the subdued sounding baroque flute to rise above the strings and inaudible even in its solo passages results more from a shortcoming in Bach’s scoring than Jonathan Slade’s performance dedication.
The evening’s highlight was Concerto for two violins in D minor with soloists Isabelle Seula and Karen Dekker. This dynamic, dueling, highly virtuosic, vigorously slick, impulsively rhythmic and exhilarating performance left the audience gasping with admiration.
This visual and aural feast was rewarded with shouts and cheers and stamping feet from the audience, who clearly hadn’t had enough, and an encore of Bach’s highly rococo Alleluia from Farley.
- Marian Poole
Suzuki & Juilliard 415
• Glenroy Auditorium, Saturday, June 10
