By Eileen Wingard
ENCINITAS, California — The Israeli duo, violinist Asi Matathias and pianist Victor Stanislavsky, shone in their recent recital at the Encinitas Library, under the auspices of Virtuosi USA, a concert series sponsored by the Friends of Musical Arts, under the direction of Michael Tseitlin.
Matathias and Stanislavsky have performed in San Diego County previously, at such venues as the Lyceum Theatre, the Salk Institute Auditorium, the Athenaeum Arts and Music Library, the Dove Library and the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, and they have many devoted fans.
Matathias’ teachers included Chaim Taub in Israel, Aaron Rosand, David Nadien and, most recently, Pinchas Zuckerman, at the Manhattan School of Music, where the young Israeli virtuoso earned his Bachelor and Master degrees.
Stanislavsky immigrated to Israel from the Ukraine in 1990. He trained in his adopted country with teachers Rieta Lasochin, Daniel Gortier and Arie Vardi, the Head of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University. Both Matathias and Stanislavsky have been scholarship recipients of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation.
The recital opened with an intense interpretation of the Vitali Chaconne.
This was followed by Beethoven’s monumental Kreutzer Sonata. Although the opening unaccompanied chords in the violin were a bit prosaic, the following passages were performed with such delicate dynamics, one could easily imagine the questioning and responding that the music implied. This was followed by the first movement’s definitive, rhythmically theme. The second movement, Andante con Variazioni , had exquisite passage work in the variations. Stanislavsky’s nimble fingers and his well-calibrated dynamics supported the violin line and, in his solo passages, came through with consummate artistry. The final movement, Presto, demonstrated Matathias’ excellent rhythmic control, with technique to burn.
The second half of the program was particularly captivating. It opened with three seldom-heard Romances, opus 22, Andante molto, Allegretto and Leidenschaftlich schnell by Clara Schumann, the talented wife of Robert Schumann. The contrasting pieces were given heartfelt readings. Clara Schumann was one of the most outstanding pianists of her day, and performed her husband’s works extensively. However, she was also a composer of rare gifts in her own right, whose music is not played often enough.
The final work of the program was an impressive rendition of Saint-Saens’ Sonata in D minor, opus 75. This seems to be one of Matathias’ signature pieces; he often programs it and plays it with relaxed ease and great vitality. In the second movement, Adagio, he drew a voluptuous tone from the Guernarius del Gesu violin he was fortunate to be playing on loan. The last movement, Allegro molto, with its perpetual motion theme, was tossed off with playful abandon, accelerating to a virtuosic climax.
The audience’s enthusiasm garnered an encore, a beautiful Brahms Waltz.
The next recital, scheduled by Virtuosi USA at the Encinitas Library, will feature Violinist Irina Tseitlin, Michael’s wife, performing Cesar Franck Sonata. and two works composed by her husband, Michael Tseitlin, Children of Yad Vashem and Circus 1937.
For ticket information: www.virtuosiusa.org 858-207-6967.
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Wingard, a retired violinist of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. She may be contacted via eileen.wingard@sdjewishworld.com.