Vadim Gluzman takes listeners back to golden age of violin

Jan 13, 2010

For Immediate Release

Contact: Annie Matlow 464-7071

SPOKANE— The Spokane Symphony, conducted by Music Director Eckart Preu, will perform two masterful symphonies by Prokofiev and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, and Samuel Barber’s magnificent Violin Concerto, featuring virtuoso violinist Vadim Gluzman, on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010, at 3 p.m. at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. There will be a pre-concert lecture in the hall one hour before the concert. In addition, Gluzman will be offering a violin Master Class, which will be free and open to the public, on Friday, January 22 at 3 p.m.

Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman, in technique and sensibility, harkens back to the Golden Age of violinists of the 19th and 20th centuries, while possessing the passion and energy of the 21^st century. Lauded by both critics and audiences as a performer of great depth, virtuosity and technical brilliance, he has appeared throughout the world as a soloist and in a duo setting with his wife, pianist Angela Yoffe. Born in 1973 in the Ukraine, Gluzman began studying the violin at the age of seven. Before moving to Israel in 1990, he studied under Zakhar Bron and later under Yair Kless in Tel Aviv. He also studied in the United States under Arkady Fomin and at The Juilliard School under the late Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki. Early in his career, Gluzman enjoyed the encouragement and support of Isaac Stern and, in 1994, received the prestigious Henryk Szeryng Foundation Career Award.

Gluzman plays the extraordinary 1690 ex-Leopold Auer Stradivarius, on extended loan to him through the generosity of the Stradivari Society of Chicago, which he depicts with enthusiasm: “Words cannot describe how wonderful this instrument is. It makes me run 15 times faster, dive 15 times deeper. When I first picked up this violin and notes emanated from my bow, I understood that my life had changed.”

Samuel Barber’sConcerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 14 will be the first piece performed. Barber is best known for the timeless, “Adagio for Strings”, which transfixes audiences with its beautiful melodic elements. It is in this same melodic theme that Barber created his violin concerto. The first movement opens with an expansive, lyrical theme on the violin. The aria-like second movement begins in melancholy, gradually building emotional tension, punctuated by almost threatening outbursts from the orchestra. The third movement is terse and fiery, placing tremendous demands on the soloist, who has to play at a breathless tempo for 110 measures without a break,exploiting the more brilliant and virtuosic character of the violin. 

Among Sergey Prokofiev’s many pieces is the sunny Symphony No. 1, which he subtitled “The Classical.”  The overall Classical style of the Symphony makes it easy to forget that it is a twentieth-century creation. The opening conforms to the standard first movement form established by Haydn, with occasional twentieth-century harmonies. The graceful theme of the second movement, introduced first by the violins then joined by a flute, shows what a little musical creativity can do with a simple descending scale. The final movement deviates from the traditional symphony form, but has the same persistent dynamic drive as the finales of so many Haydn symphonies.

Traveling in Italy in 1830, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy began the composition of the “Italian” Symphony, which he described as one of his “jolliest” pieces.  The symphony opens with a buoyant theme reflecting the sparkle of the Italian sunshine and the young composer’s rush of excitement, which is followed by a second, darker movement, inspired by the great poverty Mendelssohn witnessed in Naples. The doleful woodwinds and ploddingstaccato on the cellos and double bass may depict a religious procession he is known to have witnessed in the city streets.  The charming and graceful third movement returns to the light mood of the opening, and is followed the wild finale,  based on the nineteenth-century folk version of a medieval Italian dance.

Concertgoers can access new Interactive Program Notes, now available for each of the concerts in the Classics series on the Spokane Symphony website. These notes include audio clips from the music and a pop-up glossary of musical terms to enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the concerts. Notes for Classics 5 can be accessed at http://www.spokanesymphony.org/notes/classics5.htm

Tickets for either performance are $22, $32, $40, and $44. Tickets are available in advance at the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office, located at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague, or by calling 509-624-1200. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.spokanesymphony.org Tickets are also available at all TicketsWest outlets.

The underwriters for this concert are Doug and Gail Belanger for Musicfest Northwest, and Mary Schultz Law, P.S..

CALENDAR LISTING:

Day and Night  Classics Concert; Eckart Preu conducts the Spokane Symphony; Vadim Gluzman, violin; Saturday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 24 at 3 p.m. in the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox. Tickets are $22 to $44; call the Spokane Symphony Ticket Office at (509) 624-1200 or in person at the Martin Woldson Theater at The Fox, 1001 W. Sprague; tickets are also available at www.spokanesymphony.org and through all TicketsWest outlets.