27 Aug A Standing Ovation
At the center of it all – unassuming star and everything we heard – was pianist Caren Levine. Program notes tell us of her “collaborators”: Itzhak Perlman, Barbara Bonnie and others; notes then go on to her accomplishments as a vocal accompanist, vocal coach, winner of awards, fellowships, competitions, and a participant from Tanglewood to Aspen, a Carnegie debut, and assistant conductor, chamber musician, Marlboro faculty, recitalist, university professor, a classical pianist and composer of jazz piano literature, and on and on. We heard a stunning example of the latter and her “Coffee Boogie” (1995), dedicated to her brother, Richard. We heard a living example of her other accomplishments and her performance with each of the four singers and 20 different works by 10 composers. She lived and breathed inside each singer, each piece, and she became each composer from Mozart to Bernstein. Ms. Levine had a moment of hearty recognition following her performance of her own composition, but she deserved a lengthy solo standing ovation from all of us for her central part and everything we heard that evening.
Original Source: Manchester Journal | Date: August 27, 2004 | By: Joseph Schaaf
No Comments