EURASIA FESTIVAL GALA

Eurasia Festival Opening Night Gala at Merkin Hall

They came from Kyrgyzstan. They came from The Republic of Georgia. They came from the Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Russia, China, South Korea, and the United States of America. In the words of Aza Sydykov, it was "a triumph of art over politics". As described by pianist Jonathan Levin, it was "the most beautiful music that you've never heard". All true! The two pianists are co-founders of the Kyrgyz American Foundation, whose mission it is to preserve and promote the multicultural heritage of Eurasia with the United States.

Let us begin by honoring the contributions of Kyrgyzstan. We must start at the end of the concert because we witnessed the most remarkable performance by Omurgazy Uulu Zhyrgalbek performing with flying fingers and fluttering wrists on the Komuz and the Dombra. The former has three strings and no frets; it is made from a single piece of wood. The Dombra is a long-necked lute with two strings. The artist appeared in native dress and we urge you, dear reader, to take a look at the carousel of photos on our Facebook page (Voce di Meche). We are rarely in such awe. There were times when the melody came from the left hand and not the right one which was strumming as fast as a hummingbird's wing.

Another performance which dazzled us was that of the Ukrainian flutist Denis Savelyev, accompanied by Mr. Sydykov, performing "Nocturne" by Zhanna Kolodub. We had an epiphany when we realized how much the flute resembles the human voice. With impressive breath control Mr. Savelyev negotiated the ascending and descending scale passages. After a lovely legato central section marked by graceful phrasing, the first part returned with high drama. 

He also performed Daniel Wood's "Valse Caprice" which had a graceful pastoral mood and reminded us of singers being "on the breath". He produces a lovely tone and can decrescendo to a delicate pianissimo. Not only were we impressed but our flutist companion also sat up and took notice.

Mr. Savelyev's younger sister Maria is a cellist who delighted us with "Melody" by Myroslav Skoryk, accompanied also by Mr. Sydykov. The piece was marked by a haunting and lyrical melody. Both of the aforementioned composers belong to the 20th c. but managed to avoid the deplorable trend of assassinating melody! She also performed in a trio, with Uzbekistan violinist Vartan Mayilyantz and Mr. Levin, selections from Kyrgyzstan's first ballet Cholpon, dating from 1944. The flavor of Mikhail Raukhverger's music was distinctively Eastern and we had a fine time imagining the choreography.

We also heard three singers. Chinese soprano Nilara Mutalifu, an ethnic Uighur, let her generous soprano soar in three lovely songs by three different composers. The Uighur language was totally strange to our ears but the sound was sizable and the emotions deeply felt. Accompanying her on the piano was Mr. Levin who also performed his own composition --an original piano arrangement on a Kyrgyz theme based on the sounds of the Dombra. It was a world premiere. He also played another world premiere--a virtuosic arrangement by Eric Thompson of a Milos Rosza composition. Mr. Rosza is famous for writing film scores.

South Korean tenor Choong Lee performed a pair of songs by Rachmaninoff--"Dream" and "Do not sing, my beauty". He was accompanied by Russian pianist Vera Danchenko-Stern and in the second piece was joined by Mr. Mayilyantz who played an arrangement by Fritz Kreisler in which the violin took over some of that haunting melody. Mr. Lee has an easy full-throated voice production and came across much better when he relaxed and became freer with his gestures. He has a beautiful pianissimo.

Also from South Korea, baritone Hyungjoo Eom performed two Korean songs. At last month's concert Around the World in Song, soprano Sulgi Cho explained that the "art song" did not exist in Korea until rather recently but Hak Jun Yoon wrote one called "Majoong" on the cusp of the 21st c. and Mr. Eom gave it a lovely performance, along with a charming and spirited folk song.

We were quite impressed with Kyrgyzstan clarinetist Bakhtiyar Dooranov who gave an expressive performance of two 20th c. pieces which gave a colorful line to the clarinet with some staccato in the upper register and some well executed runs. Mr. Levin had some rumbling figures on the piano.

Another clarinetist, the Georgian Marita Pataraia was accompanied by Georgian pianist Merab Ebralidze for a piece by Irakli Gejadze. The clarinet enjoyed some rapid scale passages whilst the piano got involved in some interesting figures.

Mr. Mayilyantz played a cheerful "Waltz-Scherzo" by Tchaikovsky which we'd never heard. We liked the pensive central section and the highly embellished return, much like a bel canto aria.

Georgian violinist Gvantsa Butskhiridze was joined by Georgian pianist Marina Ghurchumelia for a frisky "Scherzo" by Vaja Azarashvili which featured a lot of pizzicato.

Kyrgyzstan flutist Eliza Salibaeva was accompanied by Mr. Levin for yet another U.S. premiere of Kalyi Moldobasanov's expressive "Rondo-Scherzo" and Muratbek Begaliev's Asian flavored "Elegy".

We cannot recall another concert with so much variety and so much international cultural sharing. Mr. Sydakov was right. Art definitely trumps politics.  Oh dear!  Was that a slip?  Well, we'll let it stand! Maybe art trumps Trump.

(c) meche kroop

SOUNDS OF KYRGYZSTAN

The colorful musicians of the Kyrgyz Republic

One of the chief advantages of living in NYC is the opportunity to experience many cultures. Until last night we knew nothing about the Kyrgyz Republic, only that it was somewhere in Central Asia. The colorful program presented last night at Merkin Concert Hall got us curious about this landlocked country with a population smaller than that of NYC. Now we know that it was on the Silk Road and that waves of immigration and invasions have resulted in a varied culture. We learned that many of their musicians were trained under the Soviet system but that independence was achieved in 1991.

Last night was a love-fest between this small nation and our own.  The Kyrgyz American Foundation has a mission-- to strengthen civil, humanitarian and cultural ties between the two nations, and one important way to accomplish this is through the arts. The love fest was not just on the stage. Kyrgyz pianist Aza Sydykov and American soprano Nikoleta Rallis are not just performing partners but romantic partners as well.

The program opened with a warm welcome from leaders of the Kyrgyz American Foundation: Mr. Sydykov and Jonathan Levin, another fine pianist.  In an interesting twist, Mr. Sydykov accompanied Ms. Rallis for our own national anthem whilst Mr. Levin played that of the Kyrgyz Republic. We heard some folks singing along so now we know that there were Kryzyk people in the audience!

We came expecting a folkloric show but that angle presented itself only for a portion of the evening and that is the portion upon which we would like to focus.  We are entirely unfamiliar with the stringed instrument known as the komuz but the virtuosity displayed by its players took our breath away. We would have liked to tell which of the two beautiful performers listed in the program  played in the video we took just before intermission but we cannot. (The program failed us on other counts as well).

However, both of them played together in the second half and both Perizat Kopobaeva and Elvira Abdilova turned in exceptional performances.  They played this instrument over each shoulder, upside down, and sideways, never missing a beat.  Arms beat like the wings of a bird and chiffon sleeves floated like curtains in a breeze. An interesting feature of the komuz is the creation of harmonics which reminds us of our "dan bao" from Vietnam.

The rest of the program was also entertaining. Apparently The Kyrgyz Republic has produced some fine composers with names both difficult to spell and impossible to pronounce. Nowhere to be heard was a composition that was hard on the ears. The music was lovely and accessible to Western ears.

There was a third fine pianist on the program, the beautiful Kairy Koshoeva, seen above in a glamorous red gown. We enjoyed a composition entitled "Mash Botoi" or "Horse Race" which we were pleased to hear as the closing number of the evening--this time played by Mr. Levin with both komuz players adding to the fun. 

One of the highlights of the evening was Ms. Rallis' singing of Stephen Foster's "Beautiful Dreamer" and Ernest Charles' "When I Have Sung My Songs To You". Strangely, these American art songs were introduced as "folk songs". Of course, we could not tell the difference among the Kryzyk compositions, which ones were traditional and which ones not.  We are all for eliminating categories and just appreciating the music!

And that we did!  Some pieces were lyrical and melodic, others were staccato and propulsive, still others languorous. The variety of moods and colors were enjoyable, even when we could not understand the program (i.e. "Mash Botoi" was given the date of 1982 but the composer Atai Ogonbaev died in 1949. That is why we abandoned the program and just enjoyed the music.)

We will not close before crediting the lovely cellist Nurmira Greenberg who played a beautiful set accompanied by Mr. Levin on the piano. The set was all mid 20th c. but without any of the flaws we find in 20th c. music. There were also some improvisations by yet another pianist Joel Martin, an American with strong ties to The Kyrgyz Republic.

(c) meche kroop