JAVS Fall 2006

It: is our hope that through the p rformance of this kind of music, othe r instrutne nt:alists might b egin to e xplore sounds outside their r egular boundari es . - Scot-t- HiLL

derivative, r th ink you'll find he bor rowed from al l the right people." I assume d1at Joachim and Brahms are omc of d1e "right people" from which Rontgen borrowed, bur l also left the recital thinking d1at teven Dann has a tone and rcchnique worth learn ing and borrowing from. Jocelyn Bastien of d1e on ervatoire de mu ique de Montreal performed erge Provost's Sur fes Hnuteurs de Budn ;, In fin du jour for 12 violas, wirh rhe support ofeleven srudent violists. This piece is about Budapest and rhe Danube river d1at runs so picturesquely d1rough the city. Having been to Budapest, it was easy for me ro rec.1-.11 d1e sighrs of rhe large river as the ensemble grew from a single voice ro a d1ic1Jy tex mred tutti before rhe olo entered. Following was a group called rhe Altura Duo which presented a program unlike any orher at the congress, with music largely from ourh America. T he duo consists of arl os Boltes with the viola and dmango, and Scott Hill playing the guitar. T he charango is a very small guitar, bur not at al l li ke a ukulele. Carlo explained d1e origin of the instrumenr. ourh American com

makes its way through variat ions, demonstrating a full gamur of bow technique. Kugel's perform ance elicited frequent delighted chuciJes and some eye-widening as he coolly performed rhc obsta cle course printed on its pages in arasate-esquc manner. Turning from hi s lighthearted reperroirc, Kugel then shared with the audience his profound re peer for ho rakov ich. In applying an appropriate slower vibrato, he gave a dark and serious fini sh to his program Afterward , Kugel related this thought: "For me the music is a very powerful language: sometimes joke (IL Carnivale), sometime tragedy (Shostakovich). " T he conce rt was an interesting two hours of contrasting mood , wi th Kugel showing incredible stamina for intense playing. Late r, Dwight Pounds joked with me that Kugel 's hobby should be rais ing horses, given the bow hair he went through. French Virtuoso Concert T hursday evening ftve violists were given opporruni ty ro share their talents: Tasso Adamopou los, Nicolas Bone, Frederic Laine, Michel Michalakakos, and Antoine Tamestit. Six violists were ro participate on the program, bur Pierre Lencrr was unable to be present at late notice. Concerrs of

this ty pe arc a real treat because they present many players and offer a satisfying sample of each individual's approach ro music making. T he on ert consisted of a mixture of viola ensemble and solo. Pierre Lcncrr was billed ro perform Enesco CoiJcertstiick, but thanktul ly Tasso Adamopoulos was willi ng tO ftll in on hon noricc to give a creative performance of the piece. 111e concert ended with a1ango work for six violas composed by Astor Piazzolla and arranged by Michelakakos. This fun piece was fu ll of rypical Piazzolla features such as in trumental and verbal imitations of d1e gu iro, maracas, and c.-1Stanets, combined with the players rising up and down in d1eir sears in comic fashion and sequence, houting fo r emphasi and as accent to ilie music. It was a great and wel l-received crowd-winning finale roan excellent two-hour display ofartistry. Also of interest was a reciral that brought together music of anada and South America. Steven Dann performed a sonara by Julius Rontgen. 0 ;U1n explai ned prior to performing d1at Rontgen had asso ciations with Joachim and Brahms and today he is accused of being overly derivative. Dann than added with a smile, "Being criticized as Mixed Recital: Canada and South America

2007 International Congress Host Keith Crellin

\f.

LUM E 2~UMBt::.R 2 13