Review of Concert

Duo Diorama

Sunday, May 1, 2005, 3:00 PM
Edward M. Pickman Hall, Longy School of Music , Cambridge , MA

Violinist Minghuan Xu and pianist Winston Choi have discovered that they form a successful team both artistically and amorously.   They recently became engaged and have formed the ensemble Duo Diorama; as the latter, they have been performing concerts throughout the United States and have been requesting music from composers they admire.   In fact, all the duets played this afternoon were commissions.

Andrew List's Fantasy for Violin and Piano (2004) and Mischa Zupko's Shades of Gray for Violin and Piano (2005) possess a scale-based sound world beholden to Debussy and Copland.   But neither has an old-fashioned structure.   The Zupko spins an intuitive format obsessed with its opening stuttering octave idea; its only flaw is an abrupt ending.   List's Fantasy employs a loosely articulated yet palpable ABCA construct that contains attractively showy virtuosic material.   Both prove good to hear.

The other two violin/piano duets encountered were more eclectic in approach.   The generic title Re: (No Subject) (2004) by Marco Balter belies a colorful, inventive composition, one shot through with extended techniques and vibrant sonics .   In places, the piece clearly suggests the ultra-demanding maximalism of Brian Ferneyhough compressed into a Webern -like brevity.   Composer M. William Karlins gives his players plenty of opportunity to shine in the back-to-back cadenzas that serve as the centerpiece for his Partners (2004).   Flanking these are sections primarily concerned with busy though motivically slack material exhibiting a distinct Atlantic Coast grit, as well as an intervening idea that is more tonally focused and slow-moving.   It's a little too scattered for comfort, though not unlistenable .

Elliott Carter's solo violin work Rhapsodic Musings (2000) shows how dissonant sound worlds should be handled-consistently yet not monochromatically.   And the piece's splashy melodic material is concentrated and gripping.   It's a brief but essential listen.   A second hearing of List's Piano Sonata No. 2 "Elegy for September 11th" (2001) reconfirmed this entry's attributes and flaws: on the plus side, a consistently handled jazz-tinged language and evocative inner movement material-on the minus side, loose long-range architecture and meandering unfolding.

Both players were terrific. Xu's fiddling featured spotless finger and bow technique, a keen feel for dramatic flair, and a big, sturdy tone free of forcing.   Choi was a more than equal partner at the keyboard.   His sound was lively and lucid, his digital work was immaculate, and his shaping of material showed insightful articulation of phrase and voicing.

Here's hoping this duo has great success on both a professional and personal level.

--David Cleary