Close Encounters with Music
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA
March 19, 2016
by Barbara Stroup
The early music movement has taken its share of criticism
for performance practice guidelines for pre-symphonic music. When these
performance standards are honored, however, the listener is offered a magical
transparency and clarity.
Acronym, a “Baroque string band” and its talented guest
soloists, presented just that kind of listening experience in its March 19th
program. There was variety, ensemble tightness, and an overall joyful acoustic
experience. Individual artists could be heard but without disruption of
texture. There was a fresh vitality in all the playing and an especially
sensitive continuo section. James Austin Smith’s oboe sound was lush; Dave
Shuford’s harpsichord solo was rapturous.
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| Yehuda Hanani |
The amiable and learned Yehuda Hanani (the series director)
began the evening with verbal program notes both entertaining and educational.
He later performed as a solo cellist. The violins were featured in the first
part of the program (there were a few intonation problems on the C Minor Fugue.
Shuford’s harpsichord solo was rapturous; the first half ended with the double
concerto for oboe and violin. The sound was lush and assertive from both
soloists and the oboe provided a nice contrast to the bow and plectra.
There was a short but humorous nod to the fictitious P.D.Q.
Bach after intermission before the romantic performance of a modern “Baroque”
concerto by Henri Casadesus, performed by Hanani. In his encore Andante by J.S. Bach (transcribed for cello),
he and the ensemble continued to show their mutual support and admiration. It
was later revealed from the stage that Hanani has been the cello teacher for
Acronym’s own cellist, Kivie Cahn-Lipman, since the age of five.
The evening ended with the familiar Brandenburg Concerto No.
3 and the audience was dazzled all over again by virtuoso string playing from
these young and talented instrumentalists.
The “Close Encounters” series includes an eclectic mix of
performers, genres, and themes; these concerts make a delightful roster in the
fine acoustics of the Mahaiwe, the gem of the Berkshires’ venues.
