Bell's skill well worth the wait

Completing Niagara/Buffalo’s mini-Tchaikovsky festival (David Jalbert recently took St. Catharines by storm with his reading of the B-flat minor Piano Concerto—cross-reference below) seemed a virtual impossibility as, at 3:25 p.m. I had yet to clear customs on the Peace Bridge and the BPO’s program had no doubt begun its matinée sitting promptly an hour before, but in the back of my mind was music director JoAnn Falletta’s exemplary programming sense, that, surely, would conclude the concert with the perennial favourite, utilizing Vehar’s Light/Lux/Svietio as the appetizer, followed by Wagner-without-singers quartet of orchestral rousers.

I was not disappointed and glad not to have fallen into the trap of some of my colleagues who relied on long-ago printed programs, oblivious to last minute changes, but, who, nonetheless, were able to pass judgment on music that never got played. And so I expect I missed the Vehar, and won’t pen a single comment on the last notes before intermission that were Wagner’s but not anywhere near Nϋrnberg!

Joshua Bell is far more than the “personality” and film-score wunderkind (The Red Violin, cross-reference below) that peppers his current résumé. His very special gift is the ability to draw incredibly beautiful and sensual tones from his violin with an ease that melds the instrument and the man together. The potential danger (like many in public life today) is to believe the media releases rather than deal constantly and deeply with the issues and subtext that lurk bewitchingly behind the notes.

His non-stop weaving and bobbing about (rather like his colleague Midori, cross-reference below) is acceptable if somewhat distracting (but no more so than the electronic timers that, despite warnings in print or in person, bleep at will throughout the stunning Kleinhans Music Hall, but only at the most delicate moments—at today’s performance the opening of the muted Andante).

The Allegro moderato served to demonstrate Bell’s spectacular skills as he made child’s play of the ferocious technical demands, only occasionally failing to plumb the depths of picture perfect intonation (early on: the “g” string; later, in the cadenza: the stratospheric double stops). With his second entrance the room went respectfully hushed as all admired the most magnificent example of spiccato I have witnessed in years: Merci, mille fois!

His able collaborators Falletta and her intrepid band were clearly up to the task of supporting and following their talented guest but the partnership turned rocky when Bell chose to startle with his tempi rather than cajole through the shifts. This resulted (particularly in the outer movements) in an excitement that was fed by fear of train wrecks rather than desire to push the artistic envelope to its limits. For her part, Falletta was attentive, clear and pragmatic, but slipped into the role of resolute accompanist when a more proactive collegial approach would have added to the “pop” to what was already a marvel of “snap and crackle.”

It was both a privilege and a pleasure to share in this performance but I can’t wait for all concerned to relax, leave the media at bay and let the music lead the way.

Vehar	Light/Lux/Svietio
Wagner	Orchestral Selections
Tchaikovsky	Violin Concerto in D Major

Cross-references: Jalbert and Tchaikovsky; The Red Violin; Midori in recital; Bell plays Mendelssohn and Beethoven; Ladies in Lavender

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra