NWS solists soar in Concerto Showcase.(New World Symphony)(Concert review)

Byline: Lawrence A. Johnson

Apr. 15--The stellar musicianship displayed by the New World Symphony's young players is such a given that even regular concertgoers can sometimes take the high quality for granted. The annual Concerto Showcase programs are a timely reminder of just how gifted these young musicians are. Given a chance to shine as soloists provides the musicians the opportunity to demonstrate individual virtuosity and excellence.

The second of this year's Concerto Showcase programs, heard Saturday at the Lincoln Theatre in Miami Beach, was less adventurous than the preceding evening, heavy on Late Romantic favorites. But there was nothing routine about the performances, which ranged from inspired to revelatory. Samuel Barber's Cello Concerto was completed in 1945, shortly after the composer's discharge from the Air Force. The work has failed to come close to achieving the popularity of Barber's Violin Concerto, and it's easy to see why. Unlike the latter's soaring lyricism, the Cello Concerto is a bleaker, more astringent work with moments of fleeting lyricism dominated by a prevailing gaunt tragic grandeur. Yet the concerto is crafted with characteristic polish and intelligence and offers manifold opportunities for a smart, imaginative soloist. Kudos to Sebastien Gingras for selecting the rarely heard work rather than one of the usual warhorses. The Canadian cellist brought a daunting technique and star-soloist personality to Barber's dark concerto, playing with a bristling fire and immediacy that made a compelling case for this music. Gingras attacked the tense, driving passages with leonine ferocity and drew a range of tonal coloring and nuance in the cadenzas and solo passages. In the Andante, his concentrated hushed playing and flickering vibrato conveyed Barber's dark rumination and brought searing ...