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Kansas City's Online Journal of the Performing Arts

The name Interpreti Veneziani conjures images of ornate Baroque chambers, ancient instruments and the mystery of Venice.  Their website is a feast for the eye as well as the ear, introducing the world to their venue at the San Vidal Church in Venice where paintings by the master El Greco adorn the walls. Even the liner notes in the program promise that "although it is difficult to reproduce the Venetian atmosphere and Vivaldi's music in concert halls, Interpreti Veneziani manages to do the impossible- the ensemble unfolds the silence of the lagoon and the romanticism of the City wherever it goes."

The program performed at the Lied Center in Lawrence last Friday night was a mixture of work by Baroque composers, Archangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi with Romantic pieces written by Spanish composers Manuel De Falla and Pablo De Sarasate, and Austrian-born Fritz Kreisler, one of the most famous violinists of his time, who attributed his own works to famous deceased Italian composers. 

Taking the stage in their casual black button downs and black slacks, they looked more like a pack of waiters than a highly skilled ensemble of virtuosos.  The program describes the ensemble as playing on original instruments, but the violins were identical and modern, making one think of an assembly line and although this resulted in a unified blend, there was no color between the instruments or distinction between the soloists for an audience member closing their eyes to know where one player had stopped an another had begun.  This may be desirable for some listeners but the effect was one dimensional.  Even the harpsichord was new. 

Watching the Baroque pieces was highly entertaining and reminiscent of a KU basketball game where one player takes the theme and passes it to another player.  The all-male ensemble interpreted the pieces athletically.  They played the allegro sections presto and scrubbed their strings so furiously more than one bow began to shed.  Unfortunately taking the tempos as fast as they did meant pitch accuracy suffered and the soloists sounded sloppy.  Intonation issues could have been overlooked had they been using original instruments.  

 Ripping through the Corelli Concert Grosso (yes, they call it the Concert Grosso, not the Concerto Grosso) Op. 6 No. 4 at breakneck speed, Interpreti Veneziani, was determined to impress the audience with their virtuosic technique. The musicians even jumped to their feet after the final flourish, anticipating the applause. 

Whether they were congratulating themselves on a job well done or signaling to our small town Midwestern audience that it was time to clap, wasn't clear.  The surprise ending didn't garner the wild undulation they might have been expecting, it was-after all, the first piece on the program - and it did leave more than one audience member mildly confused. 

The most beautiful moments came during the pianissimo, largo and andante sections of the works.  Soloist, Sebatiano Maria Vianello achingly rendered the andante section of the Vivaldi concert for violin, string and harpsichord Op.8, No. 5 "La Tempesta di Mare," He teased the ornaments and stretched the suspensions pulling every pit of Baroque beauty out of the phrases.

Ironically, it was the non-Venitian composers that the group seemed to relish.  The exciting Dance from "La Vida Breve" by De Falla absolutely jumped.  The Kreisler piece "Preludio and Allegro" relied on a theme based on the circle of fifths which is a very popular progression so it couldn't go wrong, and the final piece by Spanish composer Pablo de Sarasate, "Zingaresca" for violin and string, was full of comical phrasing and clever bowing delighting the audience with gypsy reveries even if the soloist had to adjust his tuning peg mid fermata to account for his miserable intonation in the first few phrases. 

Interpreti Venezia seemed like it did a better job of interpreting Spain, but it offered listeners virtuosic fireworks and a modern take on Vivaldi.  While no one knows for sure why Midwestern audiences are so quick to give standing ovations, the effort the ensemble made to travel so far should be recognized and rewarded. Too bad they left their good instruments at home.
 

REVIEW:
Lied Center of KU
Interpreti Veneziani
Friday, January 30 at  7:30 p.m.
Lied Center, University of Kansas
1600 Stewart Drive, Lawrence, KS
www.lied.ku.edu  

By Megan Browne Helm

Classical, Vocal and Theatre Contributor

Megan Browne Helm grew up singing, dancing and acting.  Inspired by Emma Kirkby as a high school student in St. Louis she went on to study voice and sing with the Collegium Musicum at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio where she also had a radio show of contemporary classical music on WOBC.  At the University of Kansas she had the pleasure of working with former Kings’ Singer, Simon Carrington in his Collegium Musicum and Oread consort. Years later, she was a choral fellow at the Yale School of Music’s  Norfolk Chamber Music Festival.  She is currently singing with the Kansas City Symphony Chorus under the direction of Charles Bruffy. 

 As a freelance music and culture writer her work can be found on KCMetropolis.org, presentmagazine.com, the Lawrence Journal World, Shawnee Magazine, Leawood Lifestyle Magazine and KC Parent.  She was one of 26 journalists in the country chosen as a NEA Institute Fellow for Classical Music and Opera at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. 

Her current interest is how classical music remains relevant through active collaborations with artists in different fields, including science.  She also sees a connection between classical music, travel and food as a way to engage all of the senses in a 360 degree cultural experience.  She blogs at raworganum.wordpress.com.