University of Virginia Library

MUSIC

Recital Students Give 'Laudable Performances'

By TERI TOWE

The annual Student Recital,
held in Cabell Hall Auditorium
on Tuesday night, effectively
eradicated any doubts which
anyone may have harbored
about the presence of musical
talent among students at the
University of Virginia.

The evening was highly
rewarding and stimulating,
more so than at least two of
the Tuesday Evening Concerts
and at least one of the Artist
Series Concerts that I have
heard this season. And, of
course, since it was not a
program given by a
professional, attendance by
members of the Charlottesville
community was extremely
sparse, or, as Warner Wolf put
it, I am told, at a Senators
game, "Either there aren't
many people here, or an awful
lot of fans came dressed as
empty seats." The small
turnout at the student recital is
only the most recent example
of the kind of half-hearted
cultural support we have here
in Albemarle County.

Interpretive Independence

Everyone who performed
turned in a laudable
performance, and the various
readings proved to me that
each of these musicians has an
individuality and an
interpretive independence that
is rare and refreshing among
student performers.

Wendy Anderson's
performance of three Chorale
Preludes from Bach's
Orgelbuchlein were carefully
thought out, well-executed,
and, by and large, well
registered. She played the
wonderful and now quite
unique Aerlian-Skinner organ
in the auditorium, and, upon
hearing the brave, rich sounds
of this instrument, voiced
by the legendary Ernest
Skinner himself, I hope that it
will be played more often in
recital. The Cabell Hall organ is
an historic instrument and
should be maintained in sliu
and in its original condition.

Extraordinary Event

One of the most
extraordinary events of the
evening was Mary Beth
Parrotta's performance of
Plangero la Sorte Mia from
Handel's Giulio Cesare. Miss
Parrotta, who was
accompanied splendidly by
cellist Philip Schwartz and
harpsichordist Leslie Kearney,
has a rich, light voice that is
well suited to this type of
music, and her performance was
beautifully paced, properly
though perhaps conservatively
ornamented, and sung with the
correct amount of feeling.

Pamela Babbitt, flute, and
Dawn Gould, harpsichord,
offered an effective and well
balanced reading of Bach's E
Flat Major Flute Sonata. Miss
Babbitt produces a dark, rich
and pleasant flute tone, and
Miss Gould, though, I am told,
a novice to the harpsichord,
was in command of the
situation throughout, handling
registration changes with ease.

Louis Burkot, accompanied
by Robert Miller, gave us an
extremely well paced
performance of Beethoven's
Adelaide. Mr. Burkot has a
glorious tenor voice and the
sound was almost seductive in
its beauty.

Robert Miller appeared
alone in a performance of the
Chopin F Minor Ballade.
Miller's view of the work is
rather unorthodox. Playing
clearly and intensely, he built
the work up to an absolute
fever pitch, all the while
exercising the greatest
restraint. The interpretation
was almost Lisztlan in feeling.

David Foster's playing of
the Brahm's Rliapsody in B
Minor, Op. 79. No. 1, was
effective, though perhaps a bit
overpedaled in places. Patricia
Ryan, accompanied by Angela
Jim, offered three Schubert
leaders. Mrs. Ryan has a
remarkable, clear voice that is
not marred by excessive
vibrato, and her enchanting
stage presence added to her
delightful and enthusiastic
performance.

Robert Lyons,
accompanied by Carter Bryan,
sang Schubert's Der
Doppelganger. Mr. Lyons has a
dark, big, baritone voice, and if
his performance on Tuesday
night is any indication, he is
well on his way to becoming
one of those unique vocalists
who sings with such drama and
intensity that he seems to suck
all of the air out of the hall.

Dynamics

Carole Taylor's reading of
Debussy was nicely conceived,
sinuous, and well played, as
was Dana Hearn's offering of
three selections from Debussy's
Children Corner Suite. Mr.
Hearn handled dynamics, often
a pitfall in so called
"Impressionistic" piano music,
particularly well.

John Jones, with Lynn
McRae, piano, and Rebecca
Ryder, piccolo, gave an
absolutely fabulous
performance of three of the
songs of Charles Ives. Mr. Jones
has a remarkable stage presence
as well as a splendid voice, and
the result was an absolute tour
de force.

Effective Reading

Carter Bryan brought the
Student Recital to a close with
a novel and effective reading of
Chopin's G Minor Ballade. It
requires a certain daring to
take a quiet, introspective view
of a score as extroverted as this
one, and Mr. Bryan carried it
off remarkably well.

The high quality of this
student recital prompts me to
wonder why there are not
more student recitals–either
group efforts like this one or
solo recitals. I think that the
music department should make
it a policy, effective
immediately, to sponsor as
many student recitals as
possible. Lord knows, around
here we need all the good
music and good performances
that we can get.