"Duos Among Friends"
Musicorda Summer Music Festival
South Hadley, MA
July 8, 2005
 
This was an excellent program of classical chamber music presented in Chapin Auditorium of Mount Holyoke College, the second concert of the nineteenth season of this festival.  Under the brilliant artistic direction of Rachel Barton Pine, internationally acclaimed violinist in her first season in this position, the festival is in good hands.  She has brought together an outstanding series with guest artists and faculty drawn both from prior years at Musicorda and from her own professional relationships.
 
The first duo consisted of "Duo No 2" by Bohuslav Martinu performed by Paul Kantor,violin, and Anthony Elliott, cello. This was an exciting and moving interpretation. 
 
The central section consisted of duo works performed to perfection by Rachel Barton Pine, violin, and Yang Liu, violin. These were "Etudes-Caprices, Op 18" by Henryk Wieniawski,  "Duos for Two Violins" by Bela Bartok, and "Sonata for Two Violins, Op. 56" by Sergey Prokofiev. Their collaboration was dynamic and inspiring.
 
The final half of the program was presented by a sextet consisting of Rachel Barton Pine and Masuko Ushioda, violin;  Csaba Erdelyi and Karen Ritscher, viola; and Anthony Elliott and Denis Brott, cello.   They played "Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola in E- flat major" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in an arrangement composed by Musicorda faculty member and guest artist Csaba Erdelyi. He worked with the original Mozart score and adapted to string instruments parts written for oboe and horn and masterfully transformed the original orchestral work for a string sextet. The performance by the six musicians and the arrangement of Mozart's work provided a wonderful combination.
 
The region is blessed to have the continuation of this tremendous festival under passionate new leadership and deserves unqualified support.
 
For a complete listing of the Musicorda summer season, which includes festival concerts, young artist concerts, and Road Company concerts through August 6,  visit www.musicorda.org,        
 
Review by Robert Loesch