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concert review: San Francisco Symphony
Jul. 1st, 2011 10:43 pmAnd the SFS season dribbles to a late and gentle close with a concert of three serenades for strings, by Mozart (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik is German for "serenade"), Dvorak, and Tchaikovsky. There is nothing scrawier than a solo string instrument playing a concerto, and nothing smoother and more buttery than a whole bunch of them playing a serenade like one of these.
Chief concertmaster Alexander Barantschik was billed as "leader" and that's what he did - lead, rather than conduct, just wagging his bow for a couple of entrances where he wasn't playing. He made it tougher on himself with all those lushly romantic tempo changes, but ensemble suffered only momentarily and intonation was almost as good.
Great organ-like sonorities in the Tchaikovsky, and a lively rubberiness to the the Dvorak, accentuated by some astringent choices in tone color from the lower instruments, that was most winning and made we wish that they'd go on and play the 20th century string serenade most in the same tradition, the one by the Swedish composer Dag Wiren.
Chief concertmaster Alexander Barantschik was billed as "leader" and that's what he did - lead, rather than conduct, just wagging his bow for a couple of entrances where he wasn't playing. He made it tougher on himself with all those lushly romantic tempo changes, but ensemble suffered only momentarily and intonation was almost as good.
Great organ-like sonorities in the Tchaikovsky, and a lively rubberiness to the the Dvorak, accentuated by some astringent choices in tone color from the lower instruments, that was most winning and made we wish that they'd go on and play the 20th century string serenade most in the same tradition, the one by the Swedish composer Dag Wiren.
