Sahsa Cooke's Moving Recital

It isn't often a performance moves me, but it happened during mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke's recent appearance with the Orchestra Of St. Luke's at Alice Tully Hall. The occasion was The Irene Diamond Concert, an annual benefit for Young Concert Artists. Ms. Cooke was one of three honorees. Her smooth, powerful voice was the perfect instrument for four of the six melodies in Hector Berlioz's Les nuits d'ete, Op.7.

The tonal perfection of Ms. Cooke's voice didn't surprise me since I've heard her before. The range of emotion she achieved was truly remarkable, however. The first piece, Villanelle, was brimful of happiness. In the second, Le spectre de la rose, she dominated the orchestra despite the softness of her voice. L'ile inconnu, the fourth selection, was a tonal conversation perfectly delivered. It was in the third piece, Sur les lagunes, however, where Ms. Cooke achieved a depth of sadness that needed no translation. Vivien Schweitzer's NY Times review the next day said tears were on Ms. Cooke's face and I can believe it, having felt them swell up in my eyes as well.

Opening the program that evening was harpist Emmanuel Ceysoon, who performed Reinhold Gliere's Concerto. Op. 74. The piece is a series of variations on a theme, but this interpretation made them all of one continuum, which was quite pleasing.

Pianist Jean-Frederic Neuburger closed the program with Camille Saint-Saens Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22. He successfully balanced the many different themes in the work--some capricious, some thundering--with technical and dynamic proficiency.

The Young Concert Artists is a nonprofit organization that has promoted musicians like Emanuel Ax and Murray Perahia. Unfortunately, director Susan Wadsworth said that evening that this will be the last concert in the series until economic conditions change and the donations which make it possible pick up again.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo

Two Kids at Carnegie Hall: Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma

I enjoyed a completely different kind of musical experience when Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma appeared together at Carnegie Hall. I’ve seen hundreds of performances there, but never one where both the audience and the artists had quite so much fun.

McFerrin is a unique musician, to say the least. Genres don’t matter, nor does solemnity apply when he turns his four-octave voice and circular breathing technique to the task of making music. It is also not often that you’ll see a conductor literally jump from the stage to the Parquet with a hand-held mic to chat with a few audience members and to ask one of them if he could see her program so he could find out what he was supposed to play! Great fun.

Also great music. The first piece on the program was Bach’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor. McFerrin sang the violin line, which lent a light, almost festive tone to the piece. Next was Faure’s Pavane in F-sharp Minor, followed by Vivaldi’s Concerto in G Minor for Two Cellos, where he performed one part and was joined by Yo-Yo Ma as the second. Ma has never been accused of taking himself too seriously on stage, either, so it was a delightful combination.

Then the fun really started, though, as McFerrin’s improvisational genius was engaged. When he and Ma did Bach’s Air on the G String, I noticed the concertmistress of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s listening with her eyes closed, enjoying the absolute purity of McFerrin’s tone. Rimsky Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee” performed by the fun-loving duo was an absolute hoot, as was McFerrin’s parody of an opera in which he led the orchestra in nonsense sounds while singing alternatively as a baritone and a soprano.

The height of the evening, however, was McFerrin’s finale, a compressed a capella version of “The Wizard of Oz” in which he sang nearly every role—Dororthy, the Scarecrow, munchkins, the wizard, and a wonderful witch. By the end of the night, my face hurt from grinning.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds