Concert Review: Low Key Chamber Concert #7

Concert Review:
Low Key Chamber Concert #7  
Lev 'Ljova' Zhurbin - fadolín & Gene Pritsker - guitar
Featuring poets Robert C. Ford & Erik T. Johnson
@ The Sky Vault
presented by Composers Concordance
October 30th, 2021

Set on Halloween eve at the Sky Vault in lower Manhattan you may ask what is a fadolín? Short answer: a variant of the violin. As played by Lev Zhurbin, who happens to have named the instrument and is a leading composer of caprices for it, this concert was most interesting.
Starting the program with a deeply reflective and introspective poem, Robert C. Ford provided us with his own “cycle of life” template. The interactive nature of the poem sat well with the audience.
Continuing Gene Pritsker's performances of pieces written during the pandemic last year, Gene and Lev collaborated brilliantly on Pandemic Dance #20 at once uplifting and uptempo, with even a country twang thrown in.
Lev’s three compositions on the program showed how he is expanding the repertoire of written music for the fadolín. As a leading fadolínist he demonstrated the wide range of notes that are capable of being played. Surely there is more to come from this skilled and innovative musician, who is one of the happiest performers you will ever see.
Erik T. Johnson's poems demonstrate the beauty of being able to interpret the artist as one sees fit, drawing upon one’s own set of life experiences, values and intuition. Truly something for everyone.
A newer composer, Carson Cooman contributed a piece that really brought out Gene’s skill as a guitarist.
Available on Facebook Livestream, this a concert worth viewing.
Special shoutout to Milica Paranosic for supplying Halloween masks for the in person audience.

- Thomas

 


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