NE Pennsylvania Philharmonic
Cello soloist shines with Philharmonic; music director extends his contract
WILKES-BARRE - The Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic began its 36th season in grand fashion on Friday night at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in a concert featuring internationally renowned cellist Zuill Bailey and an announcement of gratifying news concerning its musical leader, Maestro Lawrence Loh.
Prior to the beginning of the season of Passion For Romance, Loh had agreed to a contract extension with the orchestra and that announcement buoyed an evening that would be filled with spectacular music and an incredible soloist performance before an audience of 1,250 people.
The orchestra opened the season with a spectacular interpretation of Giuseppe Verdi's "Overture to the Opera Nabucco." The players needed no warmup to get the concert started. The orchestra sounded in mid-season form from the very start.
For Edward Elgar's "Concerto for Violincello and Orchestra in E Minor, Opus 85," Bailey yielded an unfailing beauty playing his 1693 Matteo Goffriller cello.
Bailey demonstrated a controlled vibrato rendering a rare combination of technical mastery and improvisational latitude that worked to stay true to the piece yet revealing of Bailey's talents. Bailey is a world-class artist who mesmerized the audience with his astonishing precision.
Following intermission, Loh conducted Piotr Tchaikovsky's "Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Opus 64."
Citizens' Voice
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
09/29/2007
BY ALEXANDER CHOMAN
MUSIC CRITIC
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