concert review
Apr. 10th, 2010 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calimacStephen Harrison is a local cellist of fair caliber; I'm happy to attend his concerts if they're convenient and have something I want to hear. In this case the convenience was less than I thought, because the parking at Stanford was virtually extinguished by other events, but I arrived at Campbell, the half-filled small recital hall, with just enough time to spare.
What I came to hear was Brahms's Op. 99 sonata, a heartily Brahmsian performance, and also got the Fairy Tale of Janacek, one of those half-jaunty works of his, and the manic-depressive Sonata No. 1 of Alfred Schnittke.
Better than Harrison was the pianist, Natsuki Fukasawa, a small woman with a powerful, heavy sound, very well suited for Brahms and even more for Schnittke's alternation between Chords of Doom™ and high-tinkling mania. The keys at the far ends of the keyboard may get to slack off for other composers, but Schnittke makes them work for their money.
What I came to hear was Brahms's Op. 99 sonata, a heartily Brahmsian performance, and also got the Fairy Tale of Janacek, one of those half-jaunty works of his, and the manic-depressive Sonata No. 1 of Alfred Schnittke.
Better than Harrison was the pianist, Natsuki Fukasawa, a small woman with a powerful, heavy sound, very well suited for Brahms and even more for Schnittke's alternation between Chords of Doom™ and high-tinkling mania. The keys at the far ends of the keyboard may get to slack off for other composers, but Schnittke makes them work for their money.
