Thursday, May 31, 2007

Noontime Concert: David Requiro

Schumann - Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70o
Brahms - Sonata in D major, Op. 78
Gaspar Cassado - Dance of the Green Devil

A musical co-worker tipped me off to the noontime concerts at St. Patrick's on Mission. Even though they are called "noontime concerts", they start at half past 12. Anyway, I went Wednesday & heard cellist David Requiro accompanied by pianist Miles Graber. The very young Mr. Requiro was last year's winner of the Irving Klein Competition. Suprisingly, he's the 1st Bay Area winner of this local competition.

Despite his age, David Requiro is clearly a veteran perfomer. I really liked his intimate playing. He's the kind of performer who draws you in. He's very musical & phrases everything, & he's almost indulgent in the easiness that he has with slow movements. Since he's a competition winner, I take it for granted that his technique is nearly perfect. He has an effortless sound even when playing extremely high up on the instrument.

Unfortunately this church is a very poor venue for this kind of recital. The sound is extremely muddy & difficult to hear. Sightlines from the pews are poor. There are also the distractions of street noise & people moving around the church. & this being San Francisco, we had a fair share of institutional types, though the audience was entirely well-behaved.

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