Sol Gabetta:
The
featured soloist on the program for the night’s show was French-Argentine Sol
Gabetta. She is a cellist, and boy, can
she play the cello! It was quite
something to watch as she dipped and soared, playing first the Schumann, then
the Shostakovich, and finally the Mendelssohn and some “smaller” Russian pieces
that featured some pretty fancy footwork up and down the cello. But first on the program was the
Schumann.
It was
a piece fit for a king and not only that!
It was lyrical and quite something to boot. She played it with passion and verve, her
whole body swaying to the music. The
pianist was very good as well, coming from Italy. They had met at a recital in Switzerland and
remained in touch ever since.
Next
came the featured piece on the program, the Shostakovich Sonata. While some commented that the cello part was
not quite as sustained as one might expect, she gave it a tremendous effort
evidently and that was all well and good.
The audience in the Terrace Theater was surely appreciative that day of
her performance. One reviewer thought that Sol might have been “upstaged”
by her pianist, but this was not the case.
How could that be possible? The
piano is only acting in a supporting role.
Be that as the case may be, I certainly enjoyed it, even if some of the
strokes on the cello were a little halting.
Still, she was quite impressive and got through it alright.
The
Mendelssohn, on the other hand, was little boring, but maybe that is just
Mendelssohn. I prefer his organ works,
personally, and choral pieces, but Sol played soulfully, and that is what
matters at this point. But the real pieces
to shine out were the following Russian ones which names I cannot quite recall,
but were certainly a treat that afternoon.
And there followed no less than three encores (!). Perhaps they were overdoing a tad, but it was,
as I say, an appreciative audience. Ms.
Gabetta played one piece by Rachmaninoff and another from her home country of
Argentina. The last piece was a bit of a
tango-esque one. If only there had been
dancing! Sol Gabetta’s next performance
will be in the south of France. She
resides in Switzerland where she plays quintets with the Gabetta Ensemble in
the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
She will return to DC for another concert come November 2012. Thank you.
–B.
It was Saturday afternoon and all were quite excited to hear Zeuill Bailey, famed cellist from the DC area, play the Bach Suites. Six in a row! Hot dog. Well, I arrived in enough time to obtain a ticket: the very last one!! Then, I proceeded downstairs to sit, unbeknownst to me, behind a fellow cellist (!). But first I had to wait, and wait I did, reading the book about the history of J.S. Bach and his super sweet Suites. Well, in short order, the late-comers all filed in after the first Suite and I was pleasantly surprised to find that I would be sitting in a seat in the center orchestra. The man sitting next to me would ask at the end of the concert, 'Are you a cellist?' To which I responded, "Yes, yes I am." He wanted to see my hands, for Zeuill Bailey himself was rather freakish with his large left hand (!). Be that as it may, it was an excellent concert, and Mr. Bailey proved himself not only an excellent cellist, but also a stand-up comedian to boot! For between each Suite, and sometimes in between movements, he would talk about himself and the Suites. For you see, each cellist has an interesting story to tell as it relates to Bach's cello Suites. He talked about encountering an airplane stewardess who screamed because he was indeed a famous cellist and asked if he knew Mo-Mo Ya. Haha, said Mr. Bailey, I do; everyone knows Mo-Mo! Haha, indeed.
Well, then Mr. Bailey went on to play the fourth Suite, the one before the intermission. And what confidence he displayed and mastery as his hands went up and down the string board. I took care as well to note how he held the cello and the bow, the placement of the fingers, etc. It was a joy to watch and listen! Mr. Bailey had a way of playing, so he said, that treated the Bach Suites as romantic music. For, as he noted, Bach did have some twenty-something kids in total (!). But seriously, his interpretation took this into account and he was able to render them excellently, such that all kow-towed at his playing. Some of the passages in the Bach Suites are really quite fast, and he performed them, again, excellently. Supposedly, it took Mr. Bailey ten years to master, which as it turns out, is two years less than Mr. Casals. Be that as it may, the concert this past weekend was out-of-sight and he received a standing ovation at the end.
The sixth Suite, supposedly, requires one to have five strings and Mr. Bailey cello is a giant cello, so he could play it. But, as he noted, he was trying to enjoy it, yet "bleeding on the inside" as he did so. Haha. Well, he performed it quite admirably, excellently in fact and that was all well and good. Then, finally, as an encore, he played the Prelude to the first cello Suite again for all to hear, as it completed the cycle of the Cello Suites. This was all well and good, for I had in fact missed it. Then, he called it quits, as he had another concert to play that very night, and many stayed to hear it, but the Cello Suites was the main event of the day at Strathmore that day and was sold out, in part thanks to me, me and my cello teacher, that is, who I also saw at the concert. She had an excellent seat about three rows back from the stage. We confirmed our next lesson and so, I will go back to Bethesda and endeavor to play Bach (!). His Minuet in C and Minuet #2, no less. That should be fun!
