By Eileen Wingard
LA JOLLA, California — It was encouraging to see two young Israeli artists performing so beautifully last Sunday evening in the sanctuary of Congregation Beth El.
Violinist Tal First, currently a student at the Juilliard School in New York and an America-Israel Cultural Foundation scholarship recipient, opened the program with Bloch’s Nigun from the Baal Shem Suite. He was accompanied at the piano by Ilya Laskin. First brought inspiring depth of feeling to his interpretation of this prime example of Jewish classical music. Laskin provided strong piano support.
Next, First played the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. Although he played this challenging work with competence, the piano accompaniment could not compete with the orchestral color of the original score. The cadenza was, therefore, the most satisfying section of the performance. In the late 1800s and beginning 1900s, violinists would sometimes play concertos on their recitals, but it was generally those with inconsequential accompaniments. Since then, the practice has been abandoned and recitalists select music from the wealth of compositions written for violin and piano or for solo violin. Itzhak Perlman’s recent recital at the California Center for the Arts is a case in point.
The talented First then played Paganini’s Caprice #2 for solo violin. He performed with grace and fine articulation as he created musical significance from this exercise in string crossings.
Pianist Ilya Laskin, a masters degree candidate at Juilliard, performed Albeniz’ Tirana, conjuring the spells of Spanish flamenco music. Although he has not yet reached the magical levels of Alicia de Larrocha’s performances of this repertoire, the work showcased his excellent technical and musical abilities.
Franck’s Sonata for Violin and Piano concluded the Program. The third movement, Ben moderato: Recitativo-Fantasia, was played with nuanced sensitivity and the final movement shone with a shimmering violin tone, drawn from First’s Testore violin.
The Beth El sanctuary is blessed with fine acoustics, and provided a satisfying venue for the program.
The appreciative audience brought the two young Israelis back for an encore, Fritz Kreisler’s Liebesleid, Love’s Sorrow. The audience then filed into the Social Hall for gourmet refreshments and an opportunity to chat with the charming young musicians. The evening was arranged by July Galper.
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Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com