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20 February 2001 Meir Minsky conducts Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra
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From the Press
Pretoria News
In a predominantly French programme the JPO under visiting Israeli conductor, Meir Minsky played with fervour and overall commendable ensemble.
They opened the concert with a brisk account of Smetana’s Overture; The Bartered Bride. This was followed by Bizet’s L’Arlesienne Suite no 2.
The sheer imaginativeness in the treatment of this apparently simple music was a joy. The beautiful phrasing of the winds, especially Helen Vosloss’s flute playing, conjured up wonderful atmosphere.
Franck’s mammoth Symphony in D minor was given a compelling performance. Climaxes were mercifully seldom inflated as, alas, so often happens in the playing of this symphony.
Overall the reading contained much in the line of poetry and dignity. In terms of structure and incidental beauty of detail the ensuing two movements provided pleasure.
Each phrase was sensitively molded but seldom marred by a sense of self-conscious striving for effect. The finale was a vital reading which succeeded in filtering the excesses of grandiose sentiment and even vulgarity that disfigure this edifice. The start of the finale, particularly, was launched with resounding electricity.
Riek Van Rensburg
From the Press
The Citizen
Great concert despite absence of soloist
Anyone deterred by such absence missed an electrifying performance of the delectable Symphony in D minor by Franck, …
Definitely a symphony to hear over and over again so as to absorb all the subtleties, especially in such a fine rendering.
Michael Traub
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Program:
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MENDELSSOHN: Midsummer Night's Dream |
| R. STRAUSS: Horn Concerto No. 1 | |
| BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 | |
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Soloist:
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Shamiel LUTFRACHMANOV |
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Concerts:
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24, 25, 26 January 2001 |
From the Press
Pretoria News
Performance reveals splashes of
orchestral colour
… there were stretches of abundant energy and radiant, lyrical beauty in the playing of Mendelssohn’s Overture: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, articulated with panache under the direction of Meir Minsky.
The alert orchestral response also yielded much pleasure in the Horn Concerto No 1 by Richard Strauss. …
Minsky showed utmost poise in the shaping of the music in Symphony No 1 by Brahms. Power and drama were combined with warmth and expressiveness in the right proportions. Above all, his reading responded readily to the lyrical elements in the music without obscuring the view of the overall structure. In the dicey opening movement he extracted to good effect all the markings. A wealth of mellow splendour emanated from the orchestra in the Andante. A more urgent pace in the third movement would not have been amiss. The majestic stride of the music was thrillingly unleashed in the finale. The splashes of orchestral colour Brahms painted on to this symphonic canvas took on their true dimensional qualities in this performance.
Riek Van Rensburg
From the Press
The Citizen
… the reading was cogent and compelling and the position of this symphony as one of the grandest effusions of the Romantic Movement was amply demonstrated.
Michael Traub
| Program: | VERDI: La Forza del Destino |
| SAINT-SAENS: Piano Concerto No. 2 | |
| TCHAIKOWSKY: Symphony No. 6, "Pathetique" | |
| Soloist: | Aviram REICHERT |
| Concerts: | 7,8, 9 February 2001 |
From the Press
Pretoria News
Long but exhilarating symphonic concert
The exciting performance of the opening work, Verdi’s Overture: La Forza del Destino proved to be symptomatic of this long but exhilarating concert by the JPO under Meir Minsky. …
Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique received a warm and emotional performance, abrim with Slavonic fervour.
One had to admire Minsky’s technical aplomb, his feeling for Tchaikovskian idiom and his remarkable grasp of the score in all its diversity.
In the opening movement he kept commendable balance between noble reserve and passion. The woodwind playing was beautiful and the brass unleashed exciting sound at the climax.
Feigned gaiety was achieved in the second movement – staccatos were light and the second theme phrased with touching affection. Feverish élan was conjured in the scherzo, fast and clear with no hint of ruthlessness.
The great lament was given a noble reading, the second theme spread with Ligarian refinement, a distilled poignancy minus maudlin affectation. Secure and sumptuous sounds from the strings and a stirring blaze emanated from the woodwind and brass.
Riek Van Rensburg
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