Music for the Ages at Cal Phil
REVIEW…..
Daniel Shindarov (above) gave a glowing performance of Saint-Saens' Introduction and Rondo Captriccio for Violin and Orchestra at the California Philharmoic Orchestra's concert in Arcadia and Los Angeles. Age played a factor in the program: Shindarov, 86, played on a 1742 violin, performing the 147 year old music.
The California Philharmonic Orchestra’s next-to-last concert for the 2010 summer series was held last week-end presenting a program more focused on musical dates than any particular mode or style. These concerts are presented at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens and Walt Disney Concert Hall. For this review, I attended Disney Hall.
Conductor Victor Vener has always preferred programs that intertwine intergenerational music—remember the opener that combined the “1812″ overture with “Rhapsody in Blue”, for instance. For this concert, Vener really drew a long bead on the semi-old and the really-old, music for the ages, you might say.
The semi-old was represented by baritone Kevin Earley and Sinatra interpreter Michael B. Levin in their group of songs from (mostly) the 1960s that the two sang in separate sets, then together closing the performance with the 1950′s “Luck be a Lady” from “Guys and Dolls”.
The really-old came in the form of a violin, a 1742 Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesú, loaned by Dr. William Sloan from his collection of antique string instruments, for the Disney Hall performance of Camille Saint Saens’ 1843 zinger, Introduction and Rondo Capriccio for Violin and Orchestra by octogenarian Daniel Shindarov.
To warm up the crowd with something familiar, Vener opened with selections from “The Sound of Music” (1959), then brought on the handsome young baritone Earley for a rousing version of “New York New York” (1977). That was followed by Levin’s pitch-challenged “Come Fly with Me”, “Summer Wind” (1966), and “The Coffee Song-They’ve got a lot of coffee in Brazil” (1946) that seemed more like open-mike night with Karaoke backing than Sinatra.
Vener segued to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade” (1863) with his own tale of 1001 Nights and ultimately launched into three sections of the spectacularly colorful piece with an elegant and graceful version. Orchestra personnel were excellent in each of the solo portions.
Daniel Shindarov, at 86, is still pretty nimble-fingered demonstrating that a combination of good genes and training with top artists (he studied with David Oistrach, among others) can allow an adoring public to enjoy his virtuosic artistry. His performance of the Saint-Saen work and the California Philharmonic’s backing stands as one of the bright moments in the orchestra’s 15-year history. The Sloan instrument, and the Saint-Saen key of A-minor, and the acoustics of Disney Hall added to the splendor.
Earley then followed with Herman Hupfeld’s “As Time Goes By” (1931) and Paul Anka’s “My Way” (1967). Earley showed a vocal similarity to John Raitt especially with his on-note ability (although an off-key glitch marred “As Time Goes By”.)
The concert concluded with Sir Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations” (1899).
The California Philharmonic Orchestra’s final Festival on the Green and Disney Hall concert is Saturday, Aug. 21 and Sunday, Aug. 22. Broadway tunes plus the conclusion to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 are on the program. For information, please call (626) 300-8200.
By Bill Peters
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