It Takes Two to Tango: Concert Review - Essay Example

The concert was entitled 'It Takes Two to Tango',and was held at the Palmer Music of Art on the 19th of September,2012 starting at 12:10 pm Performing were flute assistant professor Naomi Seldman from Penn State,who is concurrently flutist for the Rhapsoidos Trio as well as the Pennsylvania Quintet;and Jonathan Dexter,at the celloSeldman also has a masters in music from Yale, and doctorate in musical arts from the University of Texas at Austin. Dexter, meanwhile, is also a performer at various orchestras, including Penn's Woods and Williamsport, and is also a recording artist with credits that include soundtracks to films like “A Scanner Darkly” and “Recess”, a 2012 Cannes Film Festival winner.

Dexter's and Seldman's credentials speak for themselves, and so the expectation was that for the difficult pieces they were to play for the concert, technical mastery and rigor were givens. The pair covered a number of notable pieces, including Rustic Folk Dances and Airs Op. 29 by TG Febonio, and Argentinian Tangos by Angel Villoldo. Some of the standouts include JS Bach's Cello Suite No. 2. and Franz Danzi's Duetto No. 2. The eclectic mix also includes Pas de Duex by Gary Schocker, Tango by Isaac Albeniz, Claude Debussy's Syrinx for Solo Flute, and Enrique Granados' Spanish Dance No. 5. Their coverage of Bach's Cello Suite No.

2 covered the Prelude, Menuetto I and II, and the Gigue. Rustic Folk and Dances, meanwhile, was covered from Andante to Allegro, Soave, Lento, Poco Andante, Lento Molto, and Piacevole, going through the paces in what turned out to be a very forceful and vibrant opening for the duo. This latter brilliant and breathtaking rendition of the opening piece set the stage for what would later turn out to be a very fine musical performance from a pair of gifted and serious musicians/artists. The Poco Andante movement of Febonio's Rustic Folk Dances and Airs Op 29 is particularly bracing for its solemnity and air of melancholy.

The flute seems to bring out this melancholy air to great effect, and Feldman's mastery of the instrument filled the concert hall with an intense, if sad aura. The silence of the audience at that early point in the concert was an indication of the riveting nature of the performance. Febonio's piece, in my opinion, also clearly demonstrates why the cello and the flute go together very well. They serve as counterpoints of each other, and there is a reason why the musician pair chose this to begin the concert.

The masterful performance was evident in the way, closing one's eyes, it seemed that the melody was being played not by two instruments, but by a cacophony of sonorous instruments similar to each other except in the tones employed. This, together with the sad tinge that permeated the Poco Andante movement in particular, was very moving, and the effect on me personally was one of inducing a sorrowful feeling and my skin visibly going into goosebumps. These and the beauty of the piece itself, coming in so early in the concert, proved to me that this was something special to watch.

I noted the Poco Andante movement of this piece as particularly moving, and trying to reminisce its power and its beauty afterwards, watching some videos online, the distinct feeling I get is that the Feldman and Dexter were onto something special about their interpretation of the piece. The videos online pale in comparison to the concert rendition, in terms of the emotional impact of the playing, the staging of the concert itself, and the significant imprint the piece made on my sensibilities and my sense of beauty.

While the online videos tended to be flat and uninspired in the main, the Feldman and Dexter rendition was powerful in an understated way. The two make a convincing case for the power of an artist to bring to life a particular piece in ways that mere technique cannot accomplish (Febonio, 2010). The rendition of