adrian
03-31-2004, 03:36 PM
Classical Guitar Society/Jason Vieaux
By Sarah Bryan Miller
Post-Dispatch Classical Music Critic
03/28/2004
That guitarist Jason Vieaux is a superb artist was obvious from his first piece Saturday night, as he performed in a recital sponsored by the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society. But the real test of his artistry was in his ability to hold a full house in thrall despite an unbearable temperature in the auditorium.
Last November, the problem at the Ethical Society was a complete lack of heat on a very chilly night. This time it was a complete lack of air circulation on a warm one, making the room a hot and muggy foretaste of August along the Mississippi. I suppose it all averages out, but one hopes that the Ethical Society folks are giving their renters a rebate on those occasions when the HVAC system is having issues.
Fortunately, the Guitar Society's programs are made of sturdy stock that renders them perfect for fanning oneself. The list of musical offerings printed thereon was a fine and reasonably varied one, and Vieaux played them all magnificently.
He has a powerful style that invests his playing with energy, and an appealingly boyish stage persona. He also reportedly plays with a piece of Ping-Pong ball attached to his right thumbnail with Superglue; however he does it, he sounds wonderful.
He opened with Fernando Sor's "Variations on a Theme of Mozart," Op. 9 (which November's soloist, Denis Azabagic, also played; is there a connection?), and moved from there to J.S. Bach's Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001, in an artful transcription that could make the listener think that it had originally been written for the guitar.
The first half closed with three characteristically Spanish pieces by Albeniz, also arranged by Vieaux, and played with idiomatic flair. The second half opened with a wonderful composition by Californian Ian Krouse, "Variations on a Moldavian Hora," that made one anxious to hear more of Krouse's work.
In his spoken program notes, Vieaux talked about Mexican composer Manuel Ponce (1882-1948) and his "doormat" relationship with Andres Segovia, then played the Sonatina "Meridional" with a grace reminiscent of the master. The recital ended with the "Suite de Recuerdo" of Jose Luis Merlin (b. 1952), a marvelous "evocation" and recreation of Argentine folk dance styles from different regions. Vieaux's a find; it's to be hoped that he will be back in future
seasons.
By Sarah Bryan Miller
Post-Dispatch Classical Music Critic
03/28/2004
That guitarist Jason Vieaux is a superb artist was obvious from his first piece Saturday night, as he performed in a recital sponsored by the St. Louis Classical Guitar Society. But the real test of his artistry was in his ability to hold a full house in thrall despite an unbearable temperature in the auditorium.
Last November, the problem at the Ethical Society was a complete lack of heat on a very chilly night. This time it was a complete lack of air circulation on a warm one, making the room a hot and muggy foretaste of August along the Mississippi. I suppose it all averages out, but one hopes that the Ethical Society folks are giving their renters a rebate on those occasions when the HVAC system is having issues.
Fortunately, the Guitar Society's programs are made of sturdy stock that renders them perfect for fanning oneself. The list of musical offerings printed thereon was a fine and reasonably varied one, and Vieaux played them all magnificently.
He has a powerful style that invests his playing with energy, and an appealingly boyish stage persona. He also reportedly plays with a piece of Ping-Pong ball attached to his right thumbnail with Superglue; however he does it, he sounds wonderful.
He opened with Fernando Sor's "Variations on a Theme of Mozart," Op. 9 (which November's soloist, Denis Azabagic, also played; is there a connection?), and moved from there to J.S. Bach's Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001, in an artful transcription that could make the listener think that it had originally been written for the guitar.
The first half closed with three characteristically Spanish pieces by Albeniz, also arranged by Vieaux, and played with idiomatic flair. The second half opened with a wonderful composition by Californian Ian Krouse, "Variations on a Moldavian Hora," that made one anxious to hear more of Krouse's work.
In his spoken program notes, Vieaux talked about Mexican composer Manuel Ponce (1882-1948) and his "doormat" relationship with Andres Segovia, then played the Sonatina "Meridional" with a grace reminiscent of the master. The recital ended with the "Suite de Recuerdo" of Jose Luis Merlin (b. 1952), a marvelous "evocation" and recreation of Argentine folk dance styles from different regions. Vieaux's a find; it's to be hoped that he will be back in future
seasons.