International Chamber Soloists
Dmitri Berlinsky and friends bring Fontana summer fest to inspired finale
Posted by C. J. GIANAKARIS | Special to the Gazette July 26, 2008
Categories: Breaking News
KALAMAZOO -- Friday night marked the completion of the Fontana Chamber Arts 2008 Summer Music Festival -- 19 separate performances of 15 widely varying programs, performed in different venues over a month's duration. It's been quite a musical fling, and Friday's concert at Kalamazoo's St. Luke's Episcopal Church served as a fitting finale.
Two revered Bach concertos and a Brahms piano quartet provided the menu, while Natasha Paremski, 2006 Gilmore Young Artist, award-winning violinist Dmitri Berlinsky and an assortment of polished string players furnished the music-making. They combined for an inspired concert.
Berlinsky led off playing J. S. Bach's famed Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, BWV 1041, surrounded by the 11-person International Chamber Soloists of which he is music director. The resulting glorious sound hinted that Bach's writings, many composed for religious venues, miraculously accommodated the resonating acoustics found in most churches like St. Luke's. That factor proved welcome.
Berlinsky's tone was secure, sweet and uniquely his own, partly resulting from his exquisite bowing. The second Andante movement featured bittersweet playing, soft as a musical whisper, while Berlinsky's talented ensemble offered solid support. One's respect for Bach, as well as for the fine players, rose upon hearing controlled passion so ably conveyed.
Paremski followed with a thoroughly delightful performance of Bach's Keyboard Concerto No. 1 in D minor, BWV 1052. She played on a modern-day Steinway piano, taking full advantage of its qualities -- for instance, performing the opening Allegro movement with a firm but crisp touch to create the work's pulsation (and tame the hall's acoustics).
Features of the second Adagio movement were amazingly transparent in Paremski's thoughtful playing. A moody, limping quality suggested a darker side and more depth than usually associated with Bach. Paremski's playing of mordents and trills was inspired, and cadenzas in the first and third movements were charming.
The last portion of Friday's concert involved Brahms' Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60 ("Werther"), with violist Yuri Gandelsman and cellist Suren Bagratuni joining Paremski and Berlinsky.
As with Bach, Paremski displayed a firm hand to create high drama in the opening movement. Often a clear blend emerged, though the hall's resonance became more a factor with thickly textured romantic music. The third Andante movement proved loveliest, with each instrument enjoying impressive solos. It was chamber music played to perfection.
In his third performance in our country, the Russian-American violinist Dmitri Berlinsky validated the excellent impression that he had left in his two previous concerts, in the last of which he performed as soloist with the “Orquestra Sinfonica Nacional”.
The opening of the gala concerts of the XV Festival de Musica Credomatic in the Teatro Nacional, gathered a large audience which applauded with enthusiasm to Berlinsky’s performance as a violin soloist as well as director and founder of the International Chamber Soloists, string ensemble of young instrumentalists.
The first half of the concert included The Four Seasons of Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741), cycle of four concerts for violin and strings which is part of the 12 concert series published by the author, around 1725, under the title: Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione, meaning the struggle between harmony and invention. This title refers to the baroque concept of the formal tension that should exist between the rational and strict rules of the composition (harmony) and the free use of fantasy and inspiration (invention). These are possibly the most popular baroque pieces that have unjustly eclipsed the other pieces of the collection that deserve to be heard more frequently.
In the second half of the twentieth century, the development in the study of the musicology of the baroque led to a change in the interpretation of the music of that period, between 1600 and 1750. This renewed research resulted in an aspiration to interpret the music of that time in a more authentic manner through the use of replicas of original instruments of that era .
Berlinsky and the strings did not follow this aesthetic path in their interpretation of the Four Seasons which were performed in a more conventional manner. However, this is fully a valid option, especially when the performance reaches such a degree of carefulness, finesse and musicality such as Berlinsky’s.
Berlinsky’s instrument conveyed silky-smooth and fine tones, the tempos whether fast, moderate or slow were delivered accurately and his technique was precise and thorough.
The string ensemble produced a pure and velvet-soft sound and the integration with the soloist was smooth at all times.
After the intermission, the same skills were displayed by Dmitri Berlinsky and the International Chamber Soloists in their vigorous and energetic version of the Concert in Re minor for Violin and strings of Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), written when the composer was only twelve years old.
In addition to the program, to the audience’s delight, Dmitri Berlinsky and the International Chamber Soloists performed Tchaikovsky’s Valse-Scherzo.
San José de Costa Rica, 13.08.2005. Teatro Nacional. International Chamber Soloists. Director y violín solo: Dmitri Berlinsky (Carlo Landolfi, Milán, 1759). Antonio Vivaldi: 'Las cuatro estaciones'. Felix Mendelssohn: 'Concierto en re menor, para violín y cuerdas'. Presentación: Credomatic y Teletica. Concierto de gala inaugural, XV Festival de Música Credomatic.
"Berlinsky displayed complete technical mastery. He played the Beethoven Concerto with elegance of style and phrasing -- and in the Paganini Concerto, he gave an exceptional display of controlled violin playing."
The Strad
"He allowed himself to be carried away by the richness of the Franck Sonata. His tone was rounded and velvety, and he phrased in a way that brought out the music’s fire."
The New York Times
"The Mendelssohn brought about the welcome appearance of the Russian (and now American-based) Dmitri Berlinsky,... A superbly equipped player, with a rock-steady bow arm and ultra-confident technique, he sailed through the 13-year-old Mendelssohn's precocious essay in concerto writing with serene self-confidence"
The Toronto Star
"Berlinsky shone. He exuded the confidence and poise of a young Valentino. There was no shortage of brilliance and fun in his performance of Paganini’s ‘La Campanella, and his verve was a source of delight."
The Washington Times
"Ysaye (1858-1931), a wildly celebrated violinist in his own time, gave the soloist a real chance to shine in his work. Berlinsky took full advantage of the opportunity, flawlessly gliding through the sometimes thorny piece. The young Russian has technique to spare, but never lets it become mere flashiness, instead playing with quiet authority."
Savannah Morning News
"Dmitri Berlinsky possesses an impeccable bowing technique which achieves a captivating sweetness throughout the breadth of the entire register..."
Le Nacion, (Buenos Aires)
"...superbly played with beautifully contoured phrases. The artist captured the dark mood of the work and imbued it with a rich, warm tone throughout. Equally impressive, although in a different way, was the scherzo, in which he demonstrated manual dexterity that was almost athletic. ...Berlinsky is an extremely impressive young artist with fantastic technique..."
Palm Beach Daily News