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Concert Roundup
NOAM Sheriff, conducting the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon Lezion, gave us one of the finest concerts of the subscription season, with brilliant soloist Yuval Yaron.
The concert opened with Bartok's immensely demanding Violin Concerto No. 2 and closed with the fierce and fiery The Miraculous Mandarin Suite Op. 19. With only the soothing Haydn Symphony No. 44 in between, the program was one exciting and irresistible forward thrust at the end of which stood the suite's tumultuous, climactic finale.
Yaron is a stunning violinist and his reading of the Bartok concerto was electrifying. Each new phrase, in a kaleidoscopic variety, introduced new vehemence, fervor, dynamism and tension. Throughout the 40 minutes of the concerto, Yaron never compromised in the face of the music's most strenous demands.
Sheriff's other great achievement was the Mandarin suite. This is an early piece by Bartok when his language was still uncompromisingly harsh and and occasionally brutal. Huge sound masses clash in earsplitting dissonance and brass makes the walls tremble, but Sheriff maintains complete control over the orchestra.
Sheriff can also cope, as the Haydn showed, with a small orchestra and delicately scored textures. In the slow movement, the violins did not play in unison, but the symphony as a whole was presented with charm.
Noga Theater, Jaffa, May 10.
Benjamin Bar-Am
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