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Sunday, March 26, 2023
 Recent Reviews
CHAMBER
SAKURA AND THE MUSICAL ART OF ARRANGEMENT
by Abby Wasserman
Sunday, March 12, 2023
SAKURA March 12 (A. Wasserman Photo)
In Japanese, sakura means the five-petaled cherry blossom, and members of SAKURA Cello Quintet treated their Chamber Music Marin audience March 12 to a rare musical flowering. All but one of the eleven selections in the program were arrangements, not surprising because until SAKURA formed, f...
CHAMBER
ARRON-PARK DUO IN CAPTIVATING OAKMONT RECITAL
by Terry McNeill
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Cellist Edward Aaron
The chance of having two virtuoso cello recitals in the North Bay in less than 30 days was not good. The sensational Steven Isserliss Napa recital Feb. 14 simply couldn’t be bettered, but Edward Arron’s Music at Oakmont recital March 9 came close. Very close. With pianist Jeewon Park Mr. Arron ma...
SYMPHONY
MAGNIFIQUE MUSIQUE FRANÇAISE AT MARIN SYMPHONY
by Abby Wasserman
Saturday, March 4, 2023
David Fung March 4 (A. Wasserman Photo)
Remarks from Conductor Alasdair Neale introduced Marin Symphony’s March 4 French-themed concert by extolling the “glittering orchestral colors” of Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps (Of a Morning in Spring), begun in 1917 as a duet for violin and piano and completed as an orchestral tone poem ...
SYMPHONY
EXULTANT VSO PLAYING OF RAVEL BALLET IN THE EMPRESS
by Terry McNeill
Sunday, February 26, 2023
Conductor Marc Taddei
In his spoken introduction to a Vallejo Symphony audience Feb. 26 conductor Marc Taddei pointed to the afternoon’s program with a wedding epigram: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Well, the comment held true for the semi old (Grieg’s Piano Concerto) and the semi ne...
OTHER
JOYFULLY WE SING
by Pamela Hicks Gailey
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Soprano Krista Wigle
It was a welcome surprise to review a Feb. 23 recital given by two new Sonoma State voice faculty colleagues, Christa Durand and Krista Wigle, with pianist Yvonne Wormer. Since being recently retired from a performing and teaching career, I was curious to speak via a video chat with these next gener...
SYMPHONY
FERRANDIS BRINGS FRENCH MUSIC AND CONSUMMATE SKILL TO SANTA ROSA SYMPHONY
by Steve Osborn
Monday, February 20, 2023
The evening of Feb. 19 was a pleasant one on the Santa Rosa Plain. The sun was shining, and the temperature hovered in the low 50s. Inside Weill Hall at the Green Music Center, the Santa Rosa Symphony prepared to begin its latest concert as the audience buzzed about guest conductor Bruno Ferrandis, ...
CHAMBER
EXALTED ISSERLIS VALENTINES DAY GIFT IN STELLAR NAPA RECITAL
by Terry McNeill
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Shih-Isserlis Feb. 14 (J. McNeill Photo)
There were no real surprises in cellist Steven Isserlis’ Napa recital on Valentine Day, and perhaps none was expected. After all, he is among the elite of the world’s cellists, and in the crescent-shaped First United Methodist Church the full-house audience knew well the elevated musical experience...
CHAMBER
A TRIO WITH BRIO AT CHAMBER MUSIC MARIN!
by Abby Wasserman
Sunday, February 12, 2023
Trio Con Brio Feb. 12 (A. Wasserman Photo)
Per Nørgård scored one of my favorite films, “Babette’s Feast,” but on Feb. 12 I got to know Nørgård better. In a Chamber Music Marin concert the Trio con Brio Copenhagen played the Danish composer’s mesmerizing 1973 composition Spell, 18 minutes of an astral journey that could have been modeled o...
OTHER
SUBDUED PIANISM IN RARE FORTEPIANO RECITAL IN THE RAVEN
by Terry McNeill
Sunday, February 12, 2023
Pianist Daniel Adam Maltz
A fortepiano recital is a rare thing indeed, and other than the frequent performances on the instrument by the splendid Berkeley-based artist Eric Zivian, one cannot think of a formal North Bay fortepiano event in decades. Enter the enterprising folks at Healdsburg’s Raven Theater when they present...
CHAMBER
ECHO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA CREATES A BUZZ
by Abby Wasserman
Saturday, February 4, 2023
Conductor D. Canosa Feb. 4 (A. Wassserman Photo)
Composer Matthew Rupert’s Cicadas, Op. 7, opening ECHO Chamber Orchestra’s “The Creation of the World” February 4 program at San Anselmo’s First Presbyterian Church, started so modestly that many in the half-full audience were unaware the concert had begun. It certainly did, with a swelling buzz, ...
Local Concerts  
CHAMBER REVIEW
The 222 / Sunday, March 12, 2023
Alexander Malofeev, piano

Pianist Alexander Malofeev

WEIGHTY RUSSIAN SONATAS IN MALOFEEV'S 222 GALLERY RECITAL

by Terry McNeill
Sunday, March 12, 2023

Russian pianists on American tours often play blockbuster programs, so it was no surprise that Alexander Malofeev’s s recital in Healdsburg’s posh 222 Gallery had Rachmaninoff’s monumental B Flat Sonata as the capstone.

The 21-minute work in the 1931 version received a thunderous reading that favored powerful pianism at the expense of refinement. Well, it’s that kind of a piece. It’s in three movements that sound almost as one, and throughout Mr. Malofeev built the many climaxes with potent sonority, leavened by the subtle repose of the lovely slow section.

The demanding technical challenges never seemed a hurdle for the pianist, and his playing was actually rhapsodic at times, with a lovely piano tone even at fast tempos, high volume and difficult hand positions.

The pianist’s approach at this recital avoided the ruthless keyboard pounding of countryman Denis Matsuev, and fortunately it was closer to another Russian, the superstar Daniil Trifonov. This was evident in the two Beethoven Sonatas of the first half, the “Moonlight” (Op. 27, No. 2) and the “Tempest” (Op. 31, No. 2).

Initial playing in the C-Sharp Minor was slow with ample shift pedal use and some old fashioned breaking of chords, with strict tempo. The Allegretto was played conventionally, eschewing the piquant dance character. Of course the artist let loose in the Presto Agitato with a bevy of tremolos and staccato chord passages. Loud applause ensued.

Mr. Malofeev’s performance of the D minor Sonata was one of the recitals highlights, as his combination of careful pedaling in the recitatives was masterly. All the musical interruptions made the four-note melancholic motive in the finale all the more persuasive. Here also ritards were at a minimum and the even, flowing tempo gave the music (mostly quiet) perfect shape and weight.

Prior to the Rachmaninoff Moisey Weinberg’s Fourth Sonata, in B Minor, was heard. This work from 1955, now being played more since the Russian pianist Gilels discovered it, was initially played very fast with detaché touch and speedy scales. There is a dab of Prokofiev here, but the real reference is to Shostakovich’s harmonic style. However, Weinberg’s Sonata is quite unique, and over 22 minutes Mr. Malofeev wove a lovely tapestry of beguiling sound. His left-hand skips were exact and control of the constantly shifting dynamics faultless.

If convincing playing in the recital was quiet, the encore was a balanced mix of sound – Pletnev‘s transcription of a Tchaikovsky waltz from “Nutcracker” ballet. The audience, the largest at the 222 Gallery in recent memory, rose for another ovation.





Events Calendar

SYMPHONY
Santa Rosa Symphony
Sunday, March 26, 2023
3:00 PM - Rohnert Park
Francesco Lecce-Chong, conductor. Jennifer Frautschi, violin
St. Saëns: Concerto in B Minor; Angélica Negrón: TBA: Johann Strauss II: Künsterleben and An der schöen blauen Donau...
Details

CHAMBER
Santa Rosa Junior College Chamber Concerts
Sunday, March 26, 2023
8:00 PM - Santa Rosa
Kouzov Duo
Program TBA...
Details

SYMPHONY
Santa Rosa Symphony
Monday, March 27, 2023
7:30 PM - Rohnert Park
Francesco Lecce-Chong, conductor. Jennifer Frautschi, violin
St. Saëns: Concerto in B Minor; Angélica Negrón: TBA; Johann Strauss II: Künsterleben and An der schönen blauen Donau;...
Details

SYMPHONY
Sonoma County Philharmonic
Saturday, April 1, 2023
7:30 PM - Santa Rosa
Norman Gamboa, conductor. Matthew Stern, viola
Respighi: La Boutique Fantasque Suite, P. 120a; Berlioz: Harold in Italy Tickets are $15...
Details

SYMPHONY
Symphony of the Redwoods
Saturday, April 1, 2023
7:30 PM - Fort Bragg
Bryan Nies, conductor. Scott Macomber, trumpet
Copland: Quiet City; Haydn: Trumpet Concerto; Dvorak: Symphony No. 5 in F, or Symphony No. 7 in D Ticket prices TBA...
Details

SYMPHONY
Sonoma County Philharmonic
Sunday, April 2, 2023
2:00 PM - Santa Rosa
Norman Gamboa, conductor. Matthew Stern, viola
Respighi: La Boutique Fantasque Suite, P. 120a; Berlioz: Harold in Italy Tickets are $15...
Details

SYMPHONY
Symphony of the Redwoods
Sunday, April 2, 2023
2:00 PM - Fort Bragg
Bryan Nies, conductor. Scott Macomber, trumpet
Copland: Quiet City; Haydn: Trumpet Concerto; Dvorak Symphony No. 5 in F, or Symphony No. 7 in D Ticket prices TBA...
Details

CHORAL AND VOCAL
Church of the Roses
Friday, April 7, 2023
7:30 PM - Santa Rosa
Carol Menke, director. Cantiamo Sonoma; Presbyterian Chancel Choir; Roses Chamber Orchestra
Good Friday Concert. Rutter: Requiem Free will donation requested...
Details

OTHER
Sonoma State University Department of Music
Friday, April 7, 2023
7:30 PM - Rohnert Park
Sonoma Guitar Series: Jason Vieaux, Vieaux, guitar

Master Class for Sonoma State University Department of Music students...
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CHAMBER
Music at Oakmont
Thursday, April 13, 2023
1:30 PM - Santa Rosa
Curtis on Tour: The Nina von Maltzahn Global Touring Initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music. Id
Danielpour: A Shattered Vessel; Schubert: C Major Quintet, D. 956 MAO concerts are open to Oakmont residents and their guests...
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