Tuesday, July 25, 2000
Another young star holds court with CSO at Riverbend
By Janelle Gelfand
The Cincinnati Enquirer
For the second time in the same weekend, a young rising star dazzled a Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra audience at Riverbend.
In her CSO debut, pianist Katia Skanavi, 28, put her lyrical and technical prowess to work in two glittering showpieces by Chopin on Sunday night. The Moscow native clearly has an affinity for Chopin; after all, it was Chopin's Sonata No. 2 that propelled her to the final round of the 1997 Van Cliburn Competition.
If her bravura selections were similar in style, no one in the audience of 1,672 seemed to mind. With perfect weather at Riverbend and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony on the second half of the “Viennafest” program, it was a pleasant way to spend an evening.
Offenbach's Overture to La Belle Helene was the ideal work to open this outdoor concert, conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos. It was splashy enough to drum out the accompanying cicadas, and the strings sounded silken in the waltz tunes of the operetta.
Ms. Skanavi's performance of Chopin's Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise was fluid and elegant. The Andante Spianato, an intimate barcarolle in the style of Chopin's solo salon pieces, had a dreamlike quality.
Ms. Skanavi performed it with a limpid touch, and added sparkle and dash to the virtuoso polonaise that followed.
Although the orchestra played a minor role — accompanying in the polonaise only — Mr. Lopez-Cobos lagged behind the soloist for the entire piece.
Their collaboration was better in Chopin's Variations on “La ci darem la mano” from Mozart's opera, Don Giovanni. Although well-played, it was more of the same kind of rippling runs and figurations, performed with a light touch and a clean technique. More contrast in the variations, more abandon, or more sign of Ms. Skanavi's personality would have elevated the performance.
Leading without a score, Mr. Lopez-Cobos capped the program with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. The first movement emerged the most successful; it was full of the intensity, drive and momentum that had been missing Friday in the Third Symphony. Although the “fate” motive might have been more cleanly articulated in the strings, the drive and spirit of the musicians made a powerful statement.
The other movements had rough edges, mainly due to inconsistent tempos. The Andante con moto began elegantly, yet with Beethovenesque tension. Excessive rubatos, however, robbed the movement of its forward motion. In the scherzo, the string bass passage was so fast as to be a blur; Mr. Lopez-Cobos' softer passages inevitably also got slower.
But the crescendo into the finale was magnificent. The brass and winds were precise and brilliant, and the triumphant conclusion brought the crowd to its feet for the second time.
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