The TSO’s concertmaster, Jacques Israelievitch, put on one more show as a farewell, starting with Bach’s Concerto in D Minor for Two Violins, bridged with a newly composed piece by Kelly-Marie Murphy, and ending with the very enjoyable Violin Concerto in D Major by Tchaikovsky.
Bach’s piece reminded me strongly of the old world ballroom music, men with white wigs enjoying fine music and wine. I guess this is what one calls chamber music? Despite the plethora of violins, I didn’t enjoy it much.
The next piece, Dallaire, was specially commissioned for this event, so that Mr. Israelievitch, a violinist, could play alongside his son, a percussionists. An unusual pairing, the piece had its moments. Strangely, the moments I liked and disliked were right next to each other. I didn’t enjoy the percussion solos; they were louder than when the entire orchestra was playing and made the resumption of the orchestra seem weak in comparison. However, once the orchestra resumed, the percussion added power to the violin’s solemn song. The overall piece was dark and solemn, punctured with intervals of drama. The composer spoke before the music started playing, and made allusions to the concept of a conversation. If so, then this piece sounded like very serious discourse, punctuated with a sharp word or two.
The last piece, Violin Concerto in D Major by Tchaikovsky, was a pleasure. I enjoyed the music of the first half a great deal, particularly in the first few minutes where a crescendo of lively music segues into a violin solo. The only downer was that there was a 10 year old kid on the left, and a sniffle nosed senior on the right. It pains me to sound like a snob, but it made it hard to really get into the music, particularly during the solos. 
Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major
