Posted on Mon, Apr. 7, 2008
You might have made some concessions to youth Friday night at Astral's last concert of the season. But not many, and any snafu was small and worth the exuberance that glowed from the stage at the Kimmel's Perelman Theater.
That's been the Astral experience - incredibly, impressively - in every one of its 15 years. With so many busy young careers as proof of the group's work, its founders are feeling confident enough to change the name. No more
Astral Artistic Services. Now they're
Astral Artists.
As if to emphasize the object of that work, five soloists at distinct career stages performed Friday, accompanied by Symphony in C. (Speaking of groups changing names, this one went from being the Haddonfield Symphony to something that sounds like it comes in a juice box). And it was this training orchestra and its music director, Rossen Milanov, who were sometimes the evening's primary source of weakness.
The ensemble's winds were strong, but it was hard to get around the thin sound of the violins, especially in Brahms'
Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, Opus 102. Violinist Saeka Matsuyama and cellist Clancy Newman opened with a declaration of great intensity, and spent the whole piece constantly pushing the music forward. The orchestra didn't quite meet their opening intensity, and Milanov's tempos were sometimes maddeningly enervating. Still, you had to marvel at the soloists' interpretive sophistication and drive. It seems they could have operated under their own steam, and sometimes they did.
Already fully out in the professional world, pianists Simone Dinnerstein and Natalie Zhu (both former Astral artists) found the substance in Mozart's
Concerto No. 10 for Two Pianos, K. 365. Stylistic differences these two musicians have. Dinnerstein puts more weight behind her notes, while Zhu's articulation is slightly more fluid and her phrasing more fleet. But the bigger part of the experience was the way they made their parts communicate with each other. They dovetailed, they contradicted each other. A more thoughtful reading of this piece we're not likely to encounter any time soon.
Current Astral artist Jennifer Curtis took on Ravel's
Tzigane for Solo Violin and Orchestra. It's a bear of a piece, to be sure, and technically, Curtis wasn't quite there yet. But what's more elusive in this score for other violinists Curtis already has down. She's a big personality, and has a deep, open, honest sound - all to the good in a score as red-hot as this.
Contact music critic Peter Dobrin at 215-854-5611 or pdobrin@phillynews.com.
Read his blog at http://go.philly.com/artswatch.
The Astral season is over, but Astral accordion player Lidia Kaminska performs with Symphony in C May 3 at 8 p.m. at Rutgers in Camden. Information: 856-963-6683, www.symphonyinc.org.
