Jump to a different year? Take your pick! ☸ 2000 ☸ 2001 ☸ 2002 ☸ 2003 ☸ 2004 ☸ 2005 ☸ 2006 ☸ 2007 ☸ 2008 ☸ 2009 ☸ 2010 ☸ 2011 ☸ 2012 ☸ 2013 ☸ 2014 ☸ 2015 ☸ 2016 ☸ 2017 ☸ 2018 ☸ 2019 ☸ 2020 ☸ 2021 ☸ 2022 ☸ 2023 ☸ 2024 ☸
**This is an old revision of the document!**
Table of Contents
Midori at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, March 23, 2013
Midori
performing Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, part 1
St. Mark's Lutheran Church
1111 O'Farrell Street, San Francisco, CA
8:00 PM, Saturday, March 23, 2013
One Set
[8:06 PM, lights down, Introduction by Ruth Felt]
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1001 (1720)
- Adagio
- Fuga: Allegro
- Siciliano
- Presto
[work ends 8:25 PM]
[8:26 PM ready]
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Sonata No. 3 in C Major for Solo Violin, BWV 1005 (1720)
- Adagio
- Fuga
- Largo
- Allegro assai
[work ends 8:51 PM]
[8:52 PM ready]
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Partita No. 2 in D minor for Solo Violin, BWV 1004 (1720)
- Allemande
- Courante
- Sarabande
- Gigue
- Chaconne
[show ends 9:20 PM]
the Performers
- Midori Goto: violin.
Notes
Program Notes courtesy of SFPerformances.
Wikipedia article about the program.
I attended tonight's show with mom, sitting in great seats a few rows back from the front. Very stuffy inside tonight!
My overall impression of tonight's presentation (especially as compared with the following show) was an overpowering and endlessly fleet blur of notes. As with just about anything, too much of a good thing sometimes serves to reduce the impact. By the end of the night I was beginning to think “ho-hum, another witty sting of 64th notes” rather than marveling at the intricacy of Bach's inventive composition. As counterexample, I think Hilary Hahn's recent recital offered a much better showcase for Bach. I typically enjoy concerts such as this that focus on a single composer and/or a single suite of related works, but I think a bit more relaxed presentation – beginning by extending the pauses between movements and going on to split the program into two or three distinct sections – would have done much to allay the complaint of “too much, too much.” Just as enjoyment of a fine dining experience depends on the pacing of the services, I think the decision to compress the evening into a single unbroken set resulted in a disservice to us all.
Stephen Smoliar offered up similarly grumpy review for the Examiner. I get the impression that he's a bit jaded these days – how could the performance be dazzling and yet remain “matter-of-fact”?
