January 14, 2021 On-Line Recital
This year's first On-Line Recital took place on January 14 at 11:00am with a wonderful line up of musicians from our group. We want to thank Sam Smith for arranging all of the 2020 on-line recitals for us and for continuing this service into 2021. We had 11 participants on Zoom this week. Utako started us off with viewing a new sign up sheet that any one of us can use to write comments about the performances. Utako started us off by performing three pieces: Chopin Etude Op. 25 No. 12 - a fiendishly difficult piece that she made look easy. The melody hidden within the piece shone out. next she performed the Poulenc Novelette in C Major, a reflective and lyrical piece. She then ended with Chopin's Waltz Op. 34 No. 1 - her rendition was lively and exuberant and made interpretive use of ritardandos and accelerandos. Sam continued the concert with his charming rendition of Mendelssohn's Song Without Words, Op. 19, No.4, what Sam described as one of the composer's "easiest" pieces. Sam added interesting sub titles to the video as he played, a sort of tutorial guide for phrasing and dynamics. Arline played a clear and crisp rendition of Schubert's Impromptu Op. 90 No. 4, maintaining a good pace with an expressive melodic line. Shoko's performances were Schubert's Impromptu Op.90 No. 2 - she brought out a sensitive and beautiful interpretation; and Beethoven's 2nd Sonata Op. 2, No. 1 - First movement - an effective use of legato throughout, great technique and good tempo. Ed brought us one of his own compositions, Irish Dance - a light and easy listen with a nice tempo. No written score exists since Ed improvises it, something he wrote "long ago". The background was a set of photographs of Ireland that Ed took on a trip there. Laurie introduced us to Theodor Blumer's (1881-1964) Sextet Op 45, theme 1, 2, 3. She played the clarinet with her musical friends. Blumer was a German composer in the classical/romantic style and this sextet illustrates his range of melodic lines and lyricism. The piece was well performed by all players evoking a relaxed "pastoral" feel. Judy brought us a performance that she made for "Piano Bridges", a Russian group that accepts performances from any musician. She played three pieces back to back (very courageous) with no mistakes: Schumann's Romance in f-sharp major, Op. 28 No. 2, Chopin's Etude Op. 25, No. 1 (Aeolian Harp), and Liszt's Consolation No. 5. Each was played with sensitivity and experienced interpretation, along with technical skill. The concert can be viewed on youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJQld07KKitNH97fX00BsklS7_kx-o1v2 Tom Slavicek Program and Performer's bio