Review: Young violinist wows Phil crowd

He was that good.

The evening really wasn't about "Tchaikovsky's Masterpiece," i.e. his sixth, and final symphony, as the program proclaimed in its subtitle. Nor was it about the program's first offering, Wagner's "Prelude to Die Meistersinger" -- though both selections are sufficiently familiar to classical concertgoers that many of the audience should have been able to "hum along" with the melody lines.

Instead, the evening was about the second of its three announced selections for the evening. It was about two child prodigies, the first of whom lived during the mid-19th to early 20th century. It was about a child prodigy, Max Bruch (1838 - 1920) who, 100 years ago or so poured out his soul on paper as he wrote a simply glorious violin concerto; and one performed in 2003 by another prodigy, Stefan Jackiw. The barely 18-year-old Jackiw's virtuoso performance of Max Bruch's earliest published piece, his "Violin Concerto No. l in G minor, Opus 26", deservedly brought down the house at its conclusion.

Jackiw, who entered Harvard this past year, began playing the violin at age 4. He was but 12 years old when he debuted with the Boston Pops with conductor Keith Lockhart. Performing the Wieniawski "Violin Concerto No. 2", the young prodigy's performance was quickly compared to another child prodigy, violin virtuoso Joshua Bell. The comparison is a valid one. As one who watched (i.e. listened to) Bell grow up in Bloomington, Ind., it was indeed impossible to hear Bell's staggering talent as a teenager without believing in reincarnation. Surely such gifts require previous lives, centuries of study, in order to manifest themselves to such a degree in a person at such a young age.

And so it is with Jackiw. The son of physicist parents, the intense Jackiw did not just demonstrate technical skills which -- even in a lifetime of study -- few violinists ever begin to achieve. He performed with an emotionality far, far beyond his chronological years. There was a rare symbiotic one-ness between Jackiw and his violin that was apparent from his very first note, as an absolute hush fell over the crowd.

It only got better.

Other audiences, notably the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra Philharmonique de Strasbourg, and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, have already been staggered by Jackiw's virtuosity.

Thursday evening's audience at the Phil was no different, literally transfixed, mesmerized, scarcely breathing through the three movements, until they finally erupted in thunderous applause at the conclusion of the Bruch Concerto. During the past few decades, Bruch has been criticized by some music purists for the "accessibility" of his compositions.

While they have been busy, searching for yet another barb or snide comment in order to off-handedly dismiss Bruch's contributions, audiences are moved to tears because they intuitively feel a spiritual interconnectedness to Bruch's compositions.

Only someone whose heart is missing can fail to tear up during Bruch's "Kol Nidre" for cello and orchestra. And so it is with his Violin Concerto, another of his gifts.

Even before the Bruch Concerto was offered up, the audience was already in a benign mood, having thoroughly enjoyed themselves as maestro Seaman directed the orchestra in an energized version of Richard Wagner's (1813 - 1883) always popular "Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg".

One of Wagner's "soup-to-nuts" compositions, it gives each and every orchestral section an opportunity to sneak in a solo run or two, the overall effect balanced nicely by the bass and percussion sections.

The problem with Thursday evening's program was that it was too much. Just as happened last season during guest cellist Gary Hoffman's performance of Elgar's "Cello Concerto," both the Elgar and the Bruch Concerto ended the first half of the program. Then there was an intermission, followed by the second half of the program.

They should have ended the program, period.

Anything after performances such as those given by Hoffman and, Thursday, Jackiw, was superfluous. Pick any metaphor you like, the effect is the same: playing Tchaikovsky's Sixth AFTER Jackiv's performance of the Bruch Concerto is akin to the Marlins beating the Yankees in the seventh game of the series after nine innings, only for management to announce the teams will play another three innings.

Why?

Any other time I would have welcomed another opportunity to hear Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique." Thursday night I found it irksome, a distraction. An unwanted intrusion into my brain, which was still awed by Jackiw's virtuosity, still recounting every glorious nuance of Jackiw's interpretation of the Bruch. Such would not have been the case had it been placed BEFORE Jackiw's performance of the Bruch masterwork.

It's hard to quibble with success. At a time when the financial well has run dry for many symphonies here and abroad, Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts is a success story to be emulated.

The next time Jackiw performs here (and let us hope there are many more "next times"), hopefully he will end the evening's offerings.

Peg Goldberg Longstreth was trained as a classical musician and owns Longstreth-Goldberg ART gallery in Naples. You may contact her at jlongstreth@plgart.com.