Paquito D'Rivera
At Lisner Auditorium on Tuesday night, Cuban-born jazz reedman and antique-car aficionado Paquito D'Rivera had high praise for Sergio and Odair Assad, his new tour mates. The joy of collaborating with the Brazilian classical guitarists, D'Rivera explained, was akin to that of driving a '57 Cadillac through the streets of Havana. Tagging along for the ride was no small treat, either.
Dubbed "Dances From the New World" and featuring pieces by Villa-Lobos, Copland, Ernesto Lecuona, Astor Piazzolla and others, the Washington Performing Arts Society concert provided a multifaceted showcase for the siblings' dovetailing guitar virtuosity and greatly benefited from a series of fresh arrangements written by Sergio Assad. Darting runs, shimmering harmonics, percussive slaps and colorful chord inversions enhanced the music in striking and subtle ways.
D'Rivera drew support from guitarists Sergio and Odair Assad.
(File Photo)
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Of course, D'Rivera's jazz sensibilities helped make the performances, including a wonderfully fluid interpretation of "Aquarela do Brasil," sound more spontaneous than arranged. Playing clarinet throughout the evening, D'Rivera offered an honest defense for any thematic liberties taken: "I never learned all the notes!" The same lighthearted spirit spilled over into Copland's "Hoedown" from "Rodeo," which was whimsically underpinned by clippity-clop guitar rhythms, and brightened D'Rivera's solo tribute to Dizzy Gillespie, dotted with allusions to "Salt Peanuts" and "A Night in Tunisia."
Other performances, including duets, were by turns lyrical and haunting, with the clarinet ever so nimbly tracing the guitar lines. Among the most moving was Piazzolla's "Milonga per tre," which instantly evoked the late Argentine composer's deep soulfulness.
-- Mike Joyce
'The Kazakh Steppes'
"Melodies and Songs of the Kazakh Steppes," a concert presented by the Embassy of Kazakhstan to an audience of dignitaries and Kazakh partisans Tuesday in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, was obviously intended to bring the country's culture to Washingtonians who don't get much of it.
With that in mind, it's hard to see why the Kazakh State Chamber Orchestra and its conductor, Bakhytzhan Mussakhodjayeva, presented so many forgettable lollipops from the standard repertory during the first half of the program. At least composer Tles Kazhgaliyev's zippy, rambunctious "Konzertstucke for Piano and Orchestra" showed that the Kazakhs could produce ear-catching short pieces as well. Igor Frolov's "Concert Fantasy on Themes from Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess,' " though a bit bombastic, gave violinist Aiman Mussakhodjayeva a chance to toss off some dizzyingly virtuoso passages with assurance and style.
In the second half, the Kazakh State Kurmangazy Orchestra of Folk Instruments got down to business with a rare American concert of Kazakh folk music. Under Aitkali Zhaimov, the orchestra mostly played fast and bright, with the bowed kobyz giving a fetchingly tangy sound to the melodies and the plucked dombra making earthy noises underneath. The orchestra also gracefully accompanied soprano Zhannat Baktai and baritone Talgat Musabayev. The latter shone in the dolorous ballad "Song About Beautiful Khusni and Khorlan." Solos by musicians Edil Khussainov, Ardak Itekeyeva and Bekbolat Tleukhan, however, provided the most entrancing moments. When Tleukhan strummed his dombra and cried out in the song "Freedom Is My Call," the language barrier didn't dull his message even slightly.
-- Andrew Lindemann Malone
