ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180122
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 3 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: CONCERT REVIEW
SOURCE: SETH WILLIAMSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
A talented young fiddler who seems destined for a big future was the cherry on the whipped cream.
The theme for the night was "From Russia With Love," though it might have been "First-Night Flops," given that all three pieces were panned their first time out. Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D Major was said to be so bad you could "hear it stink," Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 1 was compared to the seven plagues of Egypt, and Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Ludmilla" got a chilly reception. So much for concert reviewers.
The overture to "Ruslan and Ludmilla" was a spirited romp, bristling with attitude and high spirits. The RSO was tight and focused and played exuberantly. It's hard to lose when this one is your curtain-raiser.
When violinist Derek Reeves told an interviewer last week that he wants to be concertmaster for a major symphony orchestra, it sounded like something many talented youngsters might say. But for those of us who heard him Monday night, the proposition suddenly sounded a lot more reasonable. As one concertgoer put it, "The kid's good. Real good."
He was good enough to make a lot of people ignore the Between-Movements Applause Police and shout bravo and get up on their feet after the first movement of the Tchaikovsky concerto. He's got a big, room-filling sound, dead-on intonation and all the technical tools he needs. From start to finish he played with warmth and discipline and a heartfelt lyricism that was never maudlin. And his cadenza was one brilliant moment after another. He got a quick standing ovation after the whirling final movement and sent everybody off to intermission in a good mood.
It was good to hear the rarely programmed Symphony No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 13 of Sergei Rachmaninov from the RSO. It may not qualify as a masterwork, but it has too many good things about it to languish unheard and forgotten. There were a few moments in this work where the RSO sounded like it could have used a little more rehearsal. But in general it was a convincing account that made a good case for keeping the piece in the repertoire. The symphony is full of dramatic dynamic effects. Especially impressive was the mysterious third-movement larghetto, which seemed to be boiling over with quietly repressed energy.
After another standing ovation, Maestro Wiley rewarded the Civic Center audience with Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" as an encore.
Seth Williamson produces feature news stories and a classical music program on public radio station WVTF (89.1 FM) in Roanoke.
LENGTH: Medium: 54 linesby CNB