The
Kilbourn Concert Series at Eastman School of Music took a decidedly raw turn on
Tuesday, when violinist Leila Josefowicz and pianist John Novaeck took the
stage. The ensuing recital featured all the virtuosic proficiency and technical
fireworks you would expect from a top-tier international soloist like Josefowicz,
but there was a rough-hewn edginess to her musicianship that diverged from the
conventionally beautiful sounds of a typical recital and its standard fare.
The
program began with the accessible melodies of Jean Sibelius’s “Valse Triste,” which featured a strange blend of pathos and
vibrancy that set the tone for the remainder of the concert.
Josefowicz’s diligent approach accentuated the composer’s rustic flair.
But
it was Josefowicz’s stunning interpretation of Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata
No. 1 in F Minor that left the lasting impression of the entire concert. From
the start, her tone was exceedingly visceral. You could hear both the subtle
scraping of the bow against the strings and the earthy resonance of the
violin’s wooden frame.
Rather
than being ostentatious, Josefowicz’s virtuosity
seemed intentionally direct and unpolished. This was decidedly expressionistic
playing – from the blazing dexterity
of melodic runs to the ominous pizzicato passage, to the ferocious
double-stops. The resulting, overall sound was “ugly” in the best possible
sense, as if communicating the angst, uncertainty, and disillusionment of our
modern times.
Josefowicz clearly
wasn’t interested in making the music sound pretty or sentimental. Instead,
there was an inherent violence to her approach, in which her timbre illuminated
the tension and dissonances embedded in Prokofiev’s harmonic framework. Note
for note, Novaeck’s cohesion with Josefowicz was
astonishing, particularly during the poignant contrapuntal interplay in the
final movement. Josefowicz’s performance, full of mercurial rage, was nothing
short of iconoclastic.
That’s not to say that
the recital was devoid of pleasant musical moments. In “Reflection,” by the
late Oliver Knussen, Josefowicz displayed a brilliant tone in the violin’s
upper register as she navigated the piece’s numerous trills effortlessly.
Still, a frenetic, almost combative energy lingered. Performing Otto
Wittenbecher’s arrangement of the fourth movement from Gustav Mahler’s Symphony
No. 5, Josefowicz played it somber, simple, and
earnest. The vibe was more reserved, but the sound was no less intense.
In Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Sonata
for Violin and Piano, Josefowicz returned to the
discordant atmosphere of the Prokofiev piece. The violin tone was once again
searing, but Zimmermann’s music enabled her to demonstrate her superb control
over dynamics and phrasing as well. An enigmatic encore notwithstanding, the
sonata was a fitting conclusion to the concert, with a tumultuous but
captivating melodic sensibility.
The Kilbourn Concert Series continues with a performance by New York
Polyphony on Tuesday, December 11, at 7:30 p.m.
This article appears in Nov 14-20, 2018.
