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Internationally acclaimed violinist, Midori filled the Lyric Theatre Friday night at a premium price of $60 per ticket, as concert-goers were treated to a stirring performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto with the Kansas City Symphony directed by assistant conductor, Steven Jarvi.

The Brahms concerto, acknowledged to be one of the most physically demanding in the violin repertoire, was tackled masterfully by the beautiful and petite Midori, whose vivid athleticism was matched by a mature musical interpretation that would have wowed the master Brahms himself.  The beautiful silken tones that she coaxed from her 1734 Guarneri del Gèsu "ex-Huberman" instrument with extraordinary nuance were, in lyrical passages, occasionally swallowed into the acoustical black holes of the hall, despite the good overall control of dynamics that Jarvi commanded of the orchestra.  (Won't it be fine when the Kauffman Center is completed so that we can finally hear world-class artists in an acoustical space worthy of their talents.)  

Midori's rich, sonorous low notes and perfect intonation of beautifully executed double stops highlighted the first movement, preceding the cadenza written by Brahms' good friend and violin muse, Joseph Joachim.  Spun masterfully in a classical interpretation, the silvery timbres of the violin held the audience spellbound as its magic winked transcendentally through the veil of time at countless other evenings when the notes of that very cadenza played across its bridge under the bows of earlier violin virtuosi Ricci, Rabin, and Huberman.  The latter, and namesake of Midori's instrument, had studied with Joachim as a child prodigy, and played Brahms' concerto in Vienna with Brahms in the audience in 1896.  In the pre-concert talk, Midori shared that her Guarneri had previously belonged to Ruggiero Ricci, who had heard it played in the 1950s by Michael Rabin, whom this reviewer was privileged to have heard in Kansas City with the then Philharmonic about a year before Rabin's death.
The second movement Adagio was marred by a lethargic tempo and some intonation discrepancies among the winds.  Nevertheless, oboist Lora Schaefer-Berndt achieved a beauty of tone that shimmered serenely above the thickly textured sostenuto of the wind accompaniment in her lengthy solo.  The rollicking third movement brought the concerto, sometimes dubbed a symphony for violin and orchestra, to an energizing conclusion.  The performance was extremely satisfying, both from Midori and from the orchestra alike, despite one minor flaw in the third movement, namely the missing lift that is traditionally imparted before the fourth note of the quarter notes at the end of the main theme.  Midori gave the spot a musically lilting lift, but Jarvi did not impart to the players the direction needed to allow the entire orchestra to echo her phrasing.  That omission aside, the concerto unfolded to its brilliant conclusion and Midori was feted with a wildly enthusiastic standing ovation.

Although the concerto was 'the thing' in this performance of the Kansas City Symphony, it was flanked by two equally satisfying works, namely Haydn's 1st Symphony to open the program, and Sibelius' masterful Symphony No. 5 performed on the second half of the program.  It was in the symphonic works that conductor Jarvi stepped marvelously into his own, from the sidelines of his customary role as Assistant Conductor of the Symphony.  In one of those rare and exciting moments of last minute change, Director Michael Stern joined his wife for the impending birth of the couple's second child, and Assistant Director Jarvi more than capably took over.  Under Jarvi's capable direction, the Symphony opened the Haydn Symphony No. 1 with sprightly elegance.  The opening phrase crescendos sparkled with wit and energy.  Twangs from the harpsichord colored the second movement sonority in the eccentric language of Haydn, a movement also notable for its lovely sequence midway through.

Jarvi achieved excellent orchestral balance throughout the Sibelius 5th Symphony.  Grand growling bass notes from the fourth horn, Stephen Multer, energized the opening quartet.  Excellent solo passages were delivered by bassoonist Ann Bilderback, trumpeter Gary Schutza, and first horn Alberto Suarez, whose ringing tone seemed to float and glimmer above the expansive texture of the orchestra in the first movement, and lent beauty and grace to the third movement opening horn call.  The performance was a fitting tribute to the Nordic masterpiece, and left one wanting to hear more from Jarvi with the Kansas City Symphony.


REVIEW:
Kansas City Symphony
with Steven Jarvi, Conductor/Assistant Conductor
Featuring Midori, Violin
Friday, January 9 at 8:00 pm (reviewed)
Lyric Theatre, Downtown Kansas City, MO
 www.kcsymphony.org

By Gayle G. Hathorne

Classical and Vocal Contributor (Past writer)