Dr. Colin Eatock, composer
  • Home
  • About Colin Eatock
  • Composing
  • Catalogue of works
  • Writing about music
  • Eatock Daily (blog)
  • New and upcoming
  • Contact me

Stefan Jackiw and the TSO

11/4/2011

1 Comment

 
Picture
Violinist Stefan Jackiw.
Here’s my review of violinist Stefan Jackiw, with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, from today’s Globe and Mail newspaper. (It was the first time I’d heard him – and I certainly hope it won’t be the last.)

The Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s program on Wednesday evening was an “Afterworks” program, so it contained just two works: Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7.


To be sure, this wasn’t the sort of concert that is usually described as “challenging.” That word is generally reserved for music that’s new, unusual or especially difficult in some way.

And yet this innocent looking concert did come with a few challenges.

For one thing, expectations run high whenever an orchestra plays music that the audience knows and loves.

For another, this concert featured two guest artists – American violinist Stefan Jackiw and German conductor Christoph Konig – who didn’t know the TSO, or even each other, especially well. This sort of mixing and matching is not uncommon in the orchestral world, and the results can be highly variable.

But the opening measures of the Mendelssohn washed these concerns away: Jackiw, Konig and the TSO were all on the same page where this concerto was concerned.

Jackiw, a Wunderkind who made his professional debut at the age of 12, is now a young man of 26 years. Clad in black from head to toe, there was a Paganini-like intensity to his stage presence. Sometimes, as he played, he seemed to stare fixedly at an empty seat in the third row, at other times he looked upwards and squinted in the bright lights overhead.

Musically, he brought substance and drama to Mendelssohn’s only mature violin concerto. Throughout, his tone was bright and full-bodied – his 1704 Ruggieri violin is strong in all registers – and his intonation was impeccable. Using every inch of his bow, Jackiw produced a sound that soared in Roy Thomson Hall. Even when playing very softly he could be clearly heard.

In the first movement of the concerto, Jackiw and Konig favoured a romantic approach. Both worked together to shape dynamics and tempos in ways that were sometimes surprising but always convincing. Jackiw’s cadenza was a tour de force of agility and precision.

The second movement gave Jackiw the opportunity to display his legato phrasing. He rose to the occasion with a performance that was fluid and lyrical – yet also with a bittersweet quality that retained something of the drama established earlier.

The finale was a Mendelssohnian romp, and Jackiw’s nimble tempos at times challenged Konig and the TSO to keep up. But in the closing measures, soloist, conductor and orchestra became as one, as the concerto was driven to a brilliant, unified conclusion.

However, when Jackiw left the stage, musical relationships shifted noticeably. The bond between the guest conductor and his orchestra-du-jour seemed to dissipate: it was as though they had become strangers. Turning to Dvorak’s Symphony No. 7, Konig and the TSO gave a performance that never reached the heights of the Mendelssohn.

In the first movement, the big, architectural structures were well mapped out by Konig. But the devil was in the details: foregrounds and the backgrounds weren’t always well differentiated, resulting in opaque textures.

The second movement was the most successful: pleasant and charming, with an endearing ebb and flow to it. Here, as the movement’s ending died away, the orchestra’s sound glowed like warm embers.

Alas, this was followed by a Scherzo that might have been lilting and danceable, but was strict and chunky. The last movement certainly had plenty of power – yet it was a raw kind of power that would have benefited from refinement.


© Colin Eatock 2011
1 Comment
Elaine Calder
11/5/2011 01:52:36 pm

Stefan is a very fine musician. Here at the Oregon Symphony we've invited him back for his second program with us this coming February. And I see him regularly playing at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, where James Ehnes is the new artistic director.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Eatock Daily

    I'm a composer based in Toronto – and this is my classical music blog, Eatock Daily.

    When I first started blogging, Eatock Daily was a place to re-post the articles I wrote for Toronto’s Globe and Mail and National Post newspapers, the Houston Chronicle, the Kansas City Star and other publications.

    But now I have stepped back from professional music journalism, and I'm spending more time composing.

    These days, my blog posts are infrequent, and are mostly concerned with my own music. However, I do still occasionally post comments on musical topics, including works I've discovered, enjoyed, and wish to share with others.


    – CE

    Archives

    March 2022
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    February 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    June 2020
    September 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011

    Index

    Click here for an alphabetical list of blog entries.

    RSS Feed

    Follow colineatock on Twitter
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.