in Vienna, March, 2003 and at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., November, 2005
Augsburger Zeitung Tuesday,
Feb. 25, 2003
Born in a Violin Case:
The Starling Chamber Orchestra in Göggingen’s Park Theater
(ulos) Several of the highly talented musicians of the excellent Starling Chamber Orchestra seem to have been born in a violin case: children virtuosos could hardly be more vivacious, disarmingly relaxed and deeply rooted then was the case in the Park Theater for the first performance of this European tour.
Conductor Kurt Sassmannshaus guides this talent forge with a cautious hand, soloists move in and out of the orchestra. The program was geared towards the violin: from Paganini’s shadows emerged personalities of violinists /composers who’s every breath was dedicated to virtuoso works: These works have clear structures, they are filled with romantic fantasy and colorful folk melodies, and the potential of the instrument is driven to its zenith.
It was stunning to see the verve and self confidence, the mature sound production and technical bravura in the mastery of the young soloists’ tasks: Tessa Lark allowed Wieniawski’s “Legende” to blossom with grace and charm in shining cantilenas.
Charles Yang celebrated Paganini’s “Cantabile” with great projection. Kreisler’s “Tambourin Chinois” , played by the ten year old Hye Yoon Park, was presented as a bravura cream puff full of bow effects and magic tricks; temperament, ease, and precise intonation were impressively balanced.
Suyeon Lee let her bow perform at hot blooded dance in Wieniawski’s “Scherzo tarantella”: The commanding execution of double stop passages, the rapid changes from bowing to pizzicato phrases were as impressive as the passion and graciousness of her performance.
The soloists joined the ranks of the Starling Chamber Orchestra with just as much enthusiasm to experience solo works from the perspective of orchestral accompaniment. The pure orchestral pieces did not alter the impression: Barber’s famous Adagio, Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer’s Allegro from his Symphonia Concertante for four violins, and Dvorak String Serenade op. 22 favored the sweet and compelling sounds of the violins and violas; the four celli and the double bass could not quite match the sound volume.
Waves of enthusiasm swelled yet again when Stephanie Zyzack – with a child’s hands and a child’s soul – fiddled such courage into a heartfelt and lively rendition of Kreisler’s Preludium and Allegro that her young age seemed to have been suspended.
Jonathan Miron got into the saddle of Sarasate’s “Zigeunerweisen” like a dare devil, as if that was the most usual everyday fare for a ten year old.
A very responsible task for Kurt Sassmannshaus and the Internationale
Kunst Akademie Liechtenstein to not only unlock the mystery of the instrument
for these talents, but to guide them step by step into the inner sanctums
of music.
Starling Chamber Orchestra presents Chinese world premiere at 21st Universiade in Beijing
On August 23, 2001 the Starling Chamber Orchestra from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music played the first concert of its 2001 China tour in the well attended 3000 seat auditorium of the Beijing Exhibition Center. The concert took place under the auspices of the 21st Universiade games, opened the night before as the first major international sports event in China. 6800 athletes from 168 countries competed for the next eleven days. These games were closely watch by the world's sports community in anticipation of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Starling Chamber Orchestra, Kurt Sassmannshaus, director, performed a world premiere by a Chinese composer at this Beijing concert: The Cocertino for violin and string orchestra by the renowned composer Ping Gao. The Concertino has four movements, and it is a tribute to the composer's culture as well as to this young American orchestra.
Composer Ping Gao describes his work: "It is an excursion in the sound world of Chinese music. The second movement resembles a Tibetan Chant, and the third movement, played pizzicato, resembles music from the Hutongs (traditional neighborhoods) of Beijing, imitating the San Xian traditional Chinese instrument."
The soloist for this world premier was the Chinese violinist Yang Liu. The work was enthusiastically received by the largely Chinese audience. (See below for biographies)
Conductor Kurt Sassmannshaus had this comment after
the concert:
"The Starling Chamber Orchestra is honored to be part of the Universiade
games. What a great start for our China tour! We are delighted with the
positive response of the Chinese audience. The 21st century will make
China an enormously important country for classical music."
Other works on the varied tour program of the Starling Chamber Orchestra include Bach's double concerto for two violins, performed by Yang Liu and American violinist Brittany Kotheimer; the St. Paul Suite by Gustav Holst; and "Moon reflected in the Erquan Pool", a Chinese melody in the rendition of the Chinese composer Wu Zu Quiang, Honorary President of the Beijing Conservatory. The first half closed with the American violinist Jessica Park performing Massenet's Meditation from "Thaïs" and Sarasate's "Introduction and Tarantella".
The second half opened with Vivaldi's "Winter" from "The Four Seasons", played by Ms. Kotheimer, followed by the Divertimento in D, K.136 by W.A. Mozart. American composers were represented by George Gershwin's "Lullaby". After Ping Gao's Concertino violinist Yang Liu brought the audience to their feet with Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen". The enthusiastic crowd was treated to an encore by Mr. Liu and the Starling Chamber Orchestra: the "Song of Nostalgia" by Ci Cong Ma.
The Starling Chamber Orchestra's 2001 China tour continued to Tianjing, Xi'an, Zhenzhou, and Chongqing. Besides rehearsing, performing, and traveling there was plenty of opportunity to see spectacular sites like the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terra Cotta Army in Xi'an, and for a night cruise on the Yangtse River in Chongqing.
Click here to view postcards
from China!
Click here to view postcards from other tours!
