SOL: A Cellis that plays with SOUL

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.