San Francisco Classical Voice

Jascha Heifetz' violin is rarely let out of its glass case at the Palace of the Legion of Honor, and then only for special occasions. Such an occasion happened Sunday afternoon when five selected members of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra performed on the famous instrument. Although the Guarnerius was the reason for this recital, the gifted young violinists stole the show from the 250-year-old violin.

Not that there is anything wrong with the violin. It has a magnificent sound. But without direct comparisons with other instruments (now, that might be a fascinating experiment!), the focus was instead where it probably ought to have been, on the musicians and their performances. There were certainly some identifiable characteristics to the violin that transcended the variety of performer, particularly the astonishingly rich depth of the lower register. But for the most part, each violinist played with a distinctively individual sound.

Especially impressive was SFSYO concertmaster Wayne Lee's performance of Debussy's Sonata in G Minor. Only 17, Lee is the total package. Completely at ease on stage, with an energetic and confident presence, he communicates with the audience in a way that is both direct and enthusiastic. His unconventional though impressive technique, combined with a large tonal palette, brought Debussy's intensely coloristic score vividly to life. Together with pianist Miles Graber, Lee created a real piece of chamber music. There was no soloist and no accompanist. They played together as equals, with a mature sense of pacing and true understanding of structure. Here was a performance worth jumping up and down for, as Lee did at the end in a leap that would have made Leonard Bernstein proud.

There was much to admire in the afternoon's other performances as well. Sixteen-year-old Karla Donehew played two movements from Prokofiev's D Major Sonata with passion and flair. The Andante movement was smoky and slinky and intensely expressive. Arkadi Serper was the able pianist.

Thirteen-year-old Nathan Olsen played the four dance movements from the Bach D Minor Partita in a way that called for no allowances for his age. The Allemanda had an unusually personal, narrative quality, and the concluding Giga was virtuosic and dazzling.

Sixteen-year-old Ryan Lee and Dmitri Cogan opened the recital with a performance of the last two movements of Brahms' A Major Sonata, notable for the sheer beauty of the violin sound. While I could quibble with Lee's overuse of expressive shifts (Full disclosure: I have coached Lee at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music), there was no doubting his technical prowess or his ability to draw an amazing sound out of the afternoon's guest of honor.

The concert concluded with sixteen-year-old Owen Dalby, accompanied again by Arkadi Serper, in a truncated version of Stravinsky's Suite Italienne. To his credit, Dalby eschewed tonal beauty, throwing himself wholeheartedly into the rhythmic drive of the piece and giving a wonderfully assured and rugged performance.

Whether from lack of rehearsal time, the difference in age between the violinists and their older partners, or simply lack of awareness on the part of these relatively inexperienced musicians, moments of true collaboration were rare. For the most part, in a way more fashionable during Heifetz' heyday, the pianist was relegated to the background, receiving only occasional attention from the "soloist." While memorizing a piece can help a musician to listen more carefully and to communicate with an audience more freely, both pianist and violinist need to do so in sonata repertory. When the violinist alone plays from memory, as happened too often on Sunday, an imbalance is created in what ought to be a relationship of equals.

(Steven Miller is a free lance violinist and teacher.)

©2000 Steven Miller, all rights reserved