by Robert Leeper
As if to provide a soundtrack to the lightning storm crackling just outside the windows of the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse last night, violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja dug into the dark variations of Bach’s Chaconne in D minor from his Partita No. 2., part of Mostly Mozart's “A Little Night Music” series. With its candlelit tables and complementary wine, the experience successfully mirrors the experience of intimate downtown clubs such as Le Poisson Rouge and SubCulture, blurring the line between high art and cocktail culture.
Kopatchinskaja, known as something of a wild child – she performed last night without shoes – was surprisingly subdued and emotionally dry at the outset. Quiet parts of the Chaconne came across as tentative and without substance. The scales and arpeggios that make this such an rewarding work would have benefited from a slower tempo with cleaner phrases, rather than a flurry of notes all with equal dynamics.
Enescu’s "Menetrier" from Impressions d’enfance was played with minimal vibrato, perhaps in deference to Enescu’s own training by Gypsy violinists. But the harsh playing lacked romance, resulting in a rather staid performance.
Kopatchinskaja did finally exhibit the youthful exuberance she's known for with Bartók's Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124. Written at the very end of his life, the finality of Bartók's music was reflected in Kopatchinskaja's performance, filled with tender moments whispered with a folk-like passion.
Despite the variable quality of Kopatchinskaja's performance, the excitement she's brought to concert halls around the world was evident during her encore of two short miniatures from György Kurtág’s Kafka Fragments, an ideal bookend to the Bartók.