Concerts in the Sacramento Area

Andrés Cárdenes

The first Sacramento Philharmonic concert of the year featured the man pictured above.  All season each concert will be led by a different conductor.  With Maestro Cárdenes we got two for the price of one when he both conducted and played the violin solo for the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3.  I especially liked Mendelssohn's The Hebrides which has very unusual orchestration for its period.  It was an enjoyable concert.

James Feddeck 

The second Sacramento Philharmonic concert of the year with James Feddeck as the conductor featured the Mozart Requiem, which was preceded by Schubert's Symphony No. 4.  I liked very much Toni Marie Palmertree, soprano in the Mozart.  Her beautiful voice should be much in demand.  Anthony Reed was recently in the Usher opera by Gordon Getty and has a rich bass voice.  The Benedictus is always the best part.  It will be hard to choose among these conductors.

 

Jeffrey Thomas

 But as usual American Bach Soloists with Jeffrey Thomas provided the most pleasure.  The concert was titled Bach Favorites.

Wachet! betet! betet! wachet! is a cantata that featured the usual tiny chorus with the very loud tone plus Mary Wilson sopranoc Jay Carter countertenor, Derek Chester tenor, and my favorite Mischa Bouvier bass.

By far the most interesting thing on the program came next and featured Tatiana Chulochnikova violin (2016 Jeffrey Thomas Award recipient). It's listed in the program as Toccata and Fugue in D Minor BWV (Bach Werke Verzeichnis--this is just to show that I know what it stands for) 565 transcribed for solo violin.  What?  Could you say that again, please?  Anyone knows this piece is for organ.  The argument in the program notes is that this piece was originally transcribed for organ from a VIOLIN piece.  So.  You wouldn't believe it until she played it.  It is so idiomatically a show piece for violin that you have to wonder why you didn't notice it before.  Arpeggios across the strings and appropriately voiced multiple stops are the biggest giveaway.  I completely bought it.  And it was wonderful!  A star is born.  I noticed that she played with a full romantic tone with vibrato which made me love it even more.

After intermission she was the featured soloist for the Concerto for violin in E Major.  This was also excellent.

The program closed with another cantata, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben with the same group of soloists.  This features the other favorite:  the beloved extended chorale known in English as Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring.  At all ABS concerts the audience sings along with the closing chorales.