Spring Break
Selkoff trio uneven at concert
The poor attendance of the Thursday morning concert seemed to weigh heavily on the classical music
by Kate Roller
Staff Writer
Arts | 5/20/08
Posted online at 8:08 PM EST on 5/19/08
The Selkoff Trio's first and last concert on the morning of May 1 had the dubious distinction of being the most poorly attended concert I've ever seen. People wandered in and out, but there were never more than six people in the audience and usually fewer. One might think that this would have little effect on the performance itself, but that assumption turned out not to be true. Soohan Song '08, the trio's cellist, and Ilana Tolkoff (GRAD), the violist, often stared at the meager audience when their parts were not required rather than focusing on their music or their fellow musicians. They seemed visibly (and understandably) discouraged by the low turnout, and it sometimes showed in their performance.
The concert as a whole was extremely uneven. In the Mozart Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, which opened the program, the trio, joined by violinist Daniel Stepner (MUS), of the Lydian String Quartet had good balance, good dynamics and a strong ensemble feeling, producing a warm sound and a coherent interpretation. The Brahms Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Op. 114 (with Tolkoff playing the clarinet part on the viola) was quite another story: The trio was out of tune, out of sync and apparently out of practice, with poor communication among the parts and a plethora of missed notes.
Looking back, many of the problems in the Brahms were foreshadowed in the Mozart: a need for more assertiveness from Tolkoff, botched pitches from all three students-especially during fast or challenging sections-and a growing disappointment on the players' faces. Often in the Mozart it was clear that Stepner was leading and the rest of the group was following-perfectly appropriate, even admirable, except that once Stepner left, the rest of the group fell apart without his guidance.
The Mozart could have used a little more passion, but it was otherwise very enjoyable. Particular praise is owed to the trio's third member, pianist Natalie Elman '08, who managed to present a convincing and engaging performance despite having to struggle with notes on the many exposed passages. In fact, Elman was the best part of the weaker Brahms, playing with emotion and determination while her partners' playing became increasingly gluey and imprecise. Of course, her success there came largely from the fact that she closed herself off almost entirely from Song and Tolkoff-by retreating into her own part, she salvaged her own performance, but left her fellow musicians to fend for themselves.
The concert as a whole was extremely uneven. In the Mozart Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Major, which opened the program, the trio, joined by violinist Daniel Stepner (MUS), of the Lydian String Quartet had good balance, good dynamics and a strong ensemble feeling, producing a warm sound and a coherent interpretation. The Brahms Clarinet Trio in A Minor, Op. 114 (with Tolkoff playing the clarinet part on the viola) was quite another story: The trio was out of tune, out of sync and apparently out of practice, with poor communication among the parts and a plethora of missed notes.
Looking back, many of the problems in the Brahms were foreshadowed in the Mozart: a need for more assertiveness from Tolkoff, botched pitches from all three students-especially during fast or challenging sections-and a growing disappointment on the players' faces. Often in the Mozart it was clear that Stepner was leading and the rest of the group was following-perfectly appropriate, even admirable, except that once Stepner left, the rest of the group fell apart without his guidance.
The Mozart could have used a little more passion, but it was otherwise very enjoyable. Particular praise is owed to the trio's third member, pianist Natalie Elman '08, who managed to present a convincing and engaging performance despite having to struggle with notes on the many exposed passages. In fact, Elman was the best part of the weaker Brahms, playing with emotion and determination while her partners' playing became increasingly gluey and imprecise. Of course, her success there came largely from the fact that she closed herself off almost entirely from Song and Tolkoff-by retreating into her own part, she salvaged her own performance, but left her fellow musicians to fend for themselves.
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