Viva Vivaldi concert a veritable feast of vim, vigor and verve
Marylouise Nanna and Buffalo’s Ars Nova Musicians launched Viva Vivaldi XXXI with supreme style Sunday night in the new Buffalo Religious Arts Center, formerly St. Francis Xavier Church, in Black Rock. A full house turned out.
The church lent an unusual ambience. The Latin inscriptions over the musicians’ heads made you think of the historic context of Antonio Vivaldi, who was himself a Catholic priest. The life-sized statue of St. Therese of Lisieux near the door made it look as if she were just another listener, part of the crowd.
The best-known piece was the famed Adagio for strings and organ by Tomaso Albinoni (one of this season’s Vicarious Visionaries — that is, composers who are not Vivaldi). Greg White, the organist for Orchard Park Presbyterian Church, performed the piece on the vintage St. Francis Xavier organ. This is not the kind of piece that shows us all the instrument can do, but its warmth and power were undeniable and set off beautifully the burnished sound of the strings.
The concert opened with Nanna and Ansgarius Aylward, assistant concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, teaming up for a D minor concerto by Vivaldi for two violins. These two complement each other well, and more importantly, they look as if they are having fun. It can’t be easy to pull off the synchronicity a double concerto like this one demands — and, at the same time, make it seem like no effort at all. They pulled it off, and the piece, full of fanfare, made for an especially memorable start to this year’s festival.
Next, oboe soloist Anna Mattix — the BPO’s English horn player— gave us a D minor oboe concerto by Albinoni. The oboe was a welcome change of pace, and Mattix handled it beautifully — the sweetness of tone, the long, sustained notes. The slow movement of this concerto is sublime. It was a highlight.
Roman Mekinulov, the BPO’s principal cellist, strode into the spotlight for a Vivaldi cello concerto in C minor. The first time I heard Mekinulov as a soloist was at a Viva Vivaldi concert, and I remember the energy he brought to this music, which in lesser hands can seem staid and formulaic. On Sunday night, Mekinulov took his Vivaldi concerto and played the daylights out of it. You get the idea he is never on autopilot — he plays each phrase alertly and passionately.
Next up was BPO violinist Antoine Lefebvre, with a Vivaldi concerto in C. About time the night swung into a major key, and though it was hard to call this score memorable, Lefebvre gave it an enchanting performance, with a fluid, courtly virtuosity.
The night ended with a double trumpet concerto by Giovanni Bononcini, featuring the BPO’s Alex Jokipii and Geoffrey Hardcastle. The piece had robust energy. I loved the contrast between the sharp, bright trumpets and the rounded sound of the orchestra. The slow movement brought out the warmth of the strings.
A note here about the many BPO musicians, including Nanna, who played in this concert. They had played earlier at Kleinhans Music Hall — a demanding program of Mahler and Schoenberg. Clearly, for them, Viva Vivaldi is a labor of love.
The festival continues at 6:30 p. m. next Sunday in Trinity Episcopal Church.
Concert Review
Viva Vivaldi
Sunday afternoon in the Buffalo Religious Arts Center.
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