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Sonorities of Great Beauty
MALCOLM MILLER listens to the mandolin
The pure toned resonance of the mandolin in ensemble formed the remarkable attraction of a superb recital at The Forge Venue, Camden Town, London UK on Sunday 2 December 2012, given by the award-winning Israeli mandolin virtuoso Alon Sariel, pianist Maria Yulin and special guest Joseph Brent who joined for a mandolin duo as thrilling climax.
Even in the excellently balanced acoustics of The Forge, the delicate tones of the mandolin require an accompanist of utmost sensitivity, as shown in the finely honed virtuoso playing of Maria Yulin which enabled Alon Sariel's subtlety of shading and variegated colours to emerge into the foreground with sonorities of great beauty. Due to the relative scarcity of original works for mandolin, the programme comprised a selection of Sariel's own imaginative, yet always faithful arrangements, with the notable exception of Hummel's Sonata for mandolin and piano, one of the few outstanding works for the instrument composed only a few decades after Beethoven's own unique gem for the medium. Here, Hummel's early Romantic idiom and affinity for chamber music textures found a lively vehicle, the first of the three movements evincing a sprightly mood that combined operatic and concerto elements within a simple sonata design, each section concluding with a delightfully chirpy codetta shared between the instruments...
Copyright © 6 December 2012
Malcolm Miller,
London UK
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