University of Virginia Library

MUSIC

Recital Restores Musical Tradition

By TERI TOWE

On Tuesday evening, the
McIntire Department of Music
presented a recital by student
performers. Although students
have performed in concerts
sponsored by the department
over the years, Tuesday night's
recital was the first all-student
recital that has been held here in
some five years.

Student recitals are hard to
judge, largely because of the
ever-present temptation to
compare a thoughtful and
carefully prepared and
presented student performance
with the interpretations of
professionals who have lived
with the repertoire for a much
longer period. Such
comparisons are inherently
unfair, and once that realization
has been reached, student
concerts take on a new light,
one which can help to make
them more enjoyable to all of
us, most of whose ears have
been spoiled outrageously by
the great performances available
to us in the concert hall and
through recordings.

Tuesday's night's recital was
a rewarding experience overall.
All the participants
demonstrated enthusiasm and
understanding of the music they
were performing, more than can
be said of many professionals
who often play music for which
they don't care, simply for the
sake of a "balanced" program.

Kaaren Jordan opened the
recital with a thoughtful
interpretation of the opening
aria from Bach's Cantata 51,
Jauchzet in Allen Landen. The
tempo decided upon, however,
impressed me as being too slow,
since it caused her to take
breaths at awkward places.
Robert Miller then played
Maurice Ravel's Jeux d'Eau in
an unhurried, unmannered, and
effective way; there was some
occasional muddiness in the
bass, which I think may have
been the result of the fact that
the lid of the piano had not been
opened.

Louis Burkot's performance
of 3 songs by Frederico
Mompou was light and clear
with good diction, and the
accompaniment Betty Cauley
provided was able and
thoughtful. Jill Kidd's reading
of the Prelude from Pour le
Piano by Claude Debussy was
effective and highly dramatic in
feeling.

The interpretation of Robert
Schumann's Frauenliebe und
Leben, Op. 42. presented by
Mary Beth Parotta and Anne
Johns was less than successful,
but the fault, if any can be
assessed, lay mostly with the
song cycle itself. Frauenliebe
und Leben requires physical and
mental maturity and it has been
said that by the time a soprano
is old enough and mature
enough to deliver an
interpretation worthy of the
cycle, she usually has no voice
left. With this view of the cycle
in mind, I thought that Miss
Parotta came to grips with the
songs very well. Her voice, at
present, seems a little light for
them, but her voice and diction
are clear and very pleasing. The
accompaniment, though
sympathetic, was a bit four
square at times and occasionally
overpowered Miss Parrotta's
voice, making her force her
production a little.

Wendy Anderson's
performance of Bach's D
Minor Tocatta and Fugue was
deliberate in places, but it was
delightful to hear the organ in
Cabell Hall Auditorium. The
instrument, built and voiced by
Ernest Skinner in the early years
of this century, is a valuable and
unique relic, and deserves
maintenance and preservation
in its original state.

Susan Knight, accompanied
by Jill Kidd, gave a spirited and
stylish performance of Una voce
poco fa from I Barbiere di
Sivilglia by Gioacchino Rossini.
Her voice is rich and extremely
pleasing in quality.

Anne Johns brought the
recital to a close with an
exuberant and compelling
reading of Ludwig van
Beethoven's Plano Sonata No.
31 in A Flat Major. Opus 110.
She followed the composer's
pedal markings quite
scrupulously, but she missed
some of the mystery and
color effects present in the
Sonata.

There was one highly
displeasing aspect of the
evening-audience manners.
Unless ill, those who are present
should have the courtesy to wait
until the conclusion of a
selection before leaving. This
thoughtfulness and respect
should be accorded
professionals and students alike,
regardless of quality.

Tuesday's student recital was
a successful revival of an old
tradition, and this type of
concert should be scheduled on
a frequent and regular basis.