Review: The Bottazzi School of Music Student Concert
Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
Friday, June 19, 2009- 8PM
After a long year of lessons, hard work and dedication, it’s great to see such wonderful results from the students at the Bottazzi School of Music. On Friday, June 19th, the school presented a greatly varied program with students of all ages and levels.
Beginning the concert was Andrea Crewe (8) who played her pieces, Arabesque and China Doll, with a very clear sound and a wonderful palette of colors. She presented the works with colorful shadings and vivid characters. Victoria Belluta (9) played Fur Elise with a beautifully smooth opening and a good balance of sound. Excellently prepared, she had a fine sense of the lines in both hands and a clear sense of contrasts in the different sections which created drama in her performance. Following Beethoven was Hedwig’s Theme by John Williams played by Isabella La Rocca (12) who showed us, with great spirit, the mystery of this evocative melody.
Stephanie Quezada (11) played Allegro from Mozart Sonata K. 545 with clarity and beautiful scalar passages. She played with great intention and composure. Equally confident was Ines Guanchez (12) who played Scotch Poem by MacDowell. She created a wonderfully picturesque atmosphere of a folk local color with security and command. The passionate swells in the lower register as well as the quiet and clam ending were played with complete focus that really made the audience listen intently. Sarin Dutt (13) played Rondo all Turca with great poise and elegance. His left hand was equally as supple as his right which made for a very dynamic performance.
Schummerlied by Fuchs was played by Ariana La Rocca (14) with beautiful colors and a very smooth bass line. The colors and mode mixtures were made even more special by her clear pedaling. Loriana Demircyian (11) played her Mozart Allegro with very shapely lines and phrases and a wonderful left hand. Loriana could explore an even more dramatic character in the g minor development section which she handled splendidly. The powerful Toccata by Khachaturian was played with great energy by Bryant Born (12). The shapes in the left hand created an intensity of growth which resulted in a passionate ending.
Madeline O’Reilly (10) played a very buoyant and graceful version of the Chopin Waltz Op. 64 No. 1. Her touch was clear and the differentiation of the bass was well carved and energetic; a vibrant performance. The next waltz was played by Caitlin Vanderberg (14) in a very Viennese style. The repeated notes were handled well and she played ends of phrases with a polished touch. Even more impressive was her ability to transition between sections with a natural rubato. William Stiger (19) played Rondo alla Turca with a nice, even and firm touch. His precision made his tone focused and lively.
William Matalene(16) gave us a very colorful interpretation of the first two Gershwin Preludes. He had great rhythmic precision that could have sounded even more improvisatory at times. His sense of the sinuous melody in the 2nd Prelude was particularly striking. Last on the first half of the program was Jonathan Duarte (15) playing Etude-Tableau Op. 33 No. 7 in E-flat Major with great authority. His sense of the larger shapes and phrases were great but sometimes the inner pulsations were swallowed up. On the whole, this was very exciting performance full of character and surge.
La cathedrale engloutie by Debussy calmly began the second half of this program. Irene Alfaro (18) created very beautiful colors with a wonderful sense of the long term goal in this slow-paced piece. Her pedal tones were resonant and her different touches were played with vivid clarity. The piece resulted in a sonorous and powerfully massive transformation from its quiet opening. Mario Jimenez (17) continued the program with the Rachmaninoff Prelude Op. 32 No. 12. From the very beginning, Mario arrested our attention with this haunting theme. He played with beautifully supple lines and with an impeccable sense of timing. It would have been nice for the ending to disappear even more into the distance.
Claire Drago (17) played Souvenirs D’Andalouse by Gottschalk with great flair. Her understanding of the Spanish characters is apparent. She played with a wonderful dance quality as well as with an improvisatory charm. I could hear the castanets and the Spanish guitars clearly in the celebratory ending. Mariko Ai is a professional pianist who played the Chopin g-minor Ballade, Op. 23. She tackled the elusive opening very well, creating a somber mood. Mariko played with long, singing, elastic melodies. She had great range of emotions and a fiery coda.
Lanzo Luconi (22) continued our journey with the Chopin Ballades by playing No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47. This I believed to be very special. The opening was extremely well planned out and really held together as one idea. The lines were full of shape and flexibility and the long tones were singing. Lanzo was obviously thinking of the larger phrases by featuring the ostinati and the longer bass tones. Though it got a bit breathless towards the end, Lanzo handled the growth and the mercurial quality of this piece superbly. Steven Max (16) played excerpts from Keisleriana by Schumann next. At such a young age, it’s rare to see such mature playing with such intense listening. He played these slow movements of Schumann with a wonderful sense of poetry and passion at the same time. His melodies were songful and full of color. His sense of structure was keen creating a clear arc from beginning to end. The final performer in this second half was Michael Cuozzo (22) playing the Trancendental Etude “Mazzepa” by Liszt. This powerful and dramatic work is a great closing statement for this concert and Michael played it with great understanding. His scalar sections were brilliant and the chromatic octaves were exciting. His fiery playing kept everyone listening at the edge of their seat.
The concert concluded with an award ceremony and recognition of those deserving students.
Bravo to you all.
By Walter F. Aparicio
Faculty, Bronx Conservatory of Music
Adjunct Faculty, New York University