A French touch: Falletta, Lefèvre and VSO present Gallic creations.

By Phillip Nones, 21 October 2018

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“Alain Lefèvre muscular interpretation turned into a committed performance that wowed the audience”

Reviewed at Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach on 21 October 2018

Tailleferre, Ouverture

Mathieu, Piano Concerto no. 4

Poulenc, Gloria, FP 177

Ravel, Boléro

Lefèvre, Grand Carnaval (Encore)

JoAnn Falletta, Conductor

Anna Feucht, Soprano

Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus

Robert Shoup, Choirmaster / chorus director

Alain Lefèvre, Piano

Beethoven’s “Fives” come alive in Virginia

Phillip Nones, 13th June

Olga Kern, JoAnn Falletta and the Virginia Symphony deliver musical high-fives in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Emperor Concerto.

****1

Vivid tone painting from Gavrylyuk and Falletta

Phillip Nones, 15th September

Pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk delivers a knockout Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody while JoAnn Falletta and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus present memorable Tchaikovsky and Ravel scores.

****1

Shakespeare and Schmitt’s Antony and Cleopatra in Virginia

Phillip Nones, 17th May

Coming full circle, Bill Barclay brings his adaptation of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra featuring Florent Schmitt’s opulent musical score to the Virginia Arts Festival, led by the conductor whose recording started it all.

****1

Russo-Finnish favorites from JoAnn Falletta leading the VSO

Phillip Nones, 2nd December

A fresh take on timeless classics keeps the interest high in this concert featuring cellist Julian Schwarz and conductor JoAnn Falletta leading the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

****1

Two discoveries at the Virginia Symphony

Phillip Nones, 9th April

Young countertenor Aryah Nussbaum Cohen steps in at the last minute to premiere Kenneth Fuchs’ fascinating new composition Poems of Life.

*****

JoAnn Falletta pulls out all the stops in Mahler Five

Phillip Nones, 3rd April

JoAnn Falletta and the Virginia Symphony deliver a poetic and powerful Mahler Fifth Symphony, plus a Glazunov Violin Concerto that positively sparkled.

****1

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Phillip Nones

Phillip Nones studied piano from age six, also playing percussion in educational and civic groups before moving to a rural area of the USA in 1990, where performance opportunities were few. Recently he has started performing again, participating in “side-by-side” orchestra performances and playing percussion in the World Doctors' Orchestra. His personal collection of music includes over 5,000 classical albums in all formats (CDs, LPs, 78s), plus downloads. In his professional life, he heads up a marketing communications firm in the state of Maryland. He blogs about the French composer Florent Schmitt here.

A French touch: Falletta, Lefèvre and the Virginia Symphony present a range of Gallic creations.