Author: BILL JONES
Roll over, Paganini; tell David Oistrakh the news. The day of the virtuoso is not a thing of the past.
Violinist Augustin Hadelich electrified an audience at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock on Tuesday night in the latest of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s River Rhapsodies series of concerts. The Juilliard-trained musician filled his solo and ensemble performances with passion and grace.
Hadelich first took the stage with his 18th-century Stradivari violin in Belgian composer-violinist Eugene Ysaye’s Sonata for Solo Violin No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 27. His elegant control was immediately apparent in the first movement, “Allamanda,” while the contrasting pizzicato style in the second movement, “Sarabande,” delighted the full house. Hadelich tackled the rapid-fire “Finale” with admirable elan.
For Felix Mendelssohn’s youthful Octet in E-flat Major, Op. 20, the young guest artist joined violinists Andrew Irvin, Christian Baker and Darby BeDell; violists Katherine Reynolds and Ryan Mooney; and cellists David Gerstein and Daniel Cline. Although Hadelich blended well in the group, the joyful expressiveness in his playing was evident throughout the piece. All the players combined in a celebration of the full-bodied lyricism of the “Andante.” Their bold, bright approach to the “Scherzo” made the familiar movement as refreshing as a first hearing.
The concert began with the Rockefeller Quartet (violinists Baker and BeDell, violist Mooney and cellist Cline) providing a striking fusion of crisp style and muted effect in Leos Janacek’s String Quartet No. 1, “Kreutzer Sonata,” a work that alludes to both the Beethoven piece and the Tolstoy story. The quartet members maintained a remarkable precision even as they led the listener through a spiraling descent into a troubled emotional realm.