Wednesday February 8th, 2023 - Young Concert Artists presenting violinist Risa Hokamura (above, photographed by Kendall Redmon) in her New York debut recital, with pianist Albert Cano Smit, at Merkin Hall.
Ms. Hokamura opened the evening with Eugène Ysaÿe's Sonata No. 3 in D-Minor, “Ballade”, for solo violin. Her timbre has an appealing texture, and she can cover a vast dynamic range, from steely power to whispered pianissimi. From the sonata's poignant opening, she moved with marvelous control into the virtuosic passages, then on to some shivering, skittering motifs, to a dazzling finish. The audience seemed captivated by her playing, responding with vigorous applause.
Returning to the stage with pianist Albert Cano Smit (above, in a Chris Lee photo), Ms. Hokamura embarked on a stunning reading of Sergei Prokofiev's Sonata No. 1 in F-Minor, Op. 80, with the towering Mr. Smit in complete command at the keyboard.
The pianist opens the piece with a deep, brooding passage, to be joined by the violin in a sorrowful mood. Veering from this dirge-like start, Ms. Hokamura takes up a melancholy folksong while Mr. Cano Smit's playing evokes the sound of tolling bells in the piano's deepest bass octave. As the pianist's playing takes on a ghostly aspect, the violinist plays pianissimo slithering scales, once described by Prokofiev as "the sound of wind in a graveyard". The movement ends with some eerie staccati.
The ensuing Allegro brusco features insistent hammering from Mr. Cano Smit and slashing attacks from Ms. Ms. Hokamura. Then things get ironically waltzy, until reaching a full stop. The music then passes thru various mood swings, by turns melodious and animated, before reaching a big, vibrant theme.
But then the unexpected happened: Ms. Hokamura stopped playing and announced that she has broken a string. She rushed offstage to make repairs; returning, she and Mr. Cano Smit picked up where they has left off, quickly re-establishing the mood and taking us to the movement's searing finish.
In the Andante, the players exchange delicate scale figurations and trills with a sense of the ethereal before taking up a gorgeous theme, reminding me of the composer's Opus 19/The Dreamer, so familiar from the magical Jerome Robbins ballet. A sense of longing develops, the music turning sweet and high, awash with tenderness. The players have established an incredible atmosphere, lingering before descending to the depths. With hushed trills, the music falls silent.
The lively finale develops a rondo feeling, surging thru changing key signatures to a kind of edgy lyricism, laced with folkish plucking from Ms. Hokamura. Things sail along blithely until Russian melancholy takes hold: the music slows to a recurrence of the "wind through the graveyard" mood; the sonata ends in a mood of introspection. Ms. Hokamura and Mr. Cano Smit were heartily saluted by the crowd for their brilliant paying.
Music by the contemporary Japanese composer Toshio Hosokawa opened the concert's second half: his Elegy for solo violin brought me back to memories of the composer's fascinating opera THE RAVEN, given here in New York by Gotham Chamber Opera in 2014.
Elegy opens with Ms. Hokamura playing sustained tones with a slightly gritty feeling; developing, the music can feel dramatic and edgy one moment, then super-soft and shining the next. A slow, rising passage mixes hushed trills and tremelos with sustained notes and gentle murmurings. Throughout, the violinist displayed exceptional control and exquisite artistry.
In Ernest Chausson's beloved Poème, Op. 25, the music rises from the depths of the piano to a pensive theme which turns a bit restless as the violin spins out log phrases. Then the rapture arises: the music, by turns lilting and passionate, features huge outpourings from the keyboard and rising violin motifs, decorated with trills.
Holding to the French repertory, Ms. Hokamura and Mr. Cano Smit concluded their program with the wonderful Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28, by Camille Saint-Saëns. A march-like beat is established, and the violin takes up a familiar theme. Mr. Cano Smit's playing takes on a feeling of grandeur, and Ms. Hokamura's lilting melody sings forth. Now the piano takes over the time-honored theme, decorated by violin flourishes. Things speed up; fanciful fiorature from both players carries the piece to a brilliant conclusion.
A lovely setting of "Estrellita" by Manuel Ponce made for a charming encore, leaving Ms. Hokamura and Mr. Cano Smit facing a standing ovation from the Merkin Hall crowd - a crowd that included two stellar violinists: Cho-liang Lin, and the beauteous Bella Hristova.
Above, after the concert: Albert Cano Smit and Risa Hokamura; photo by Kendall Redmon
~ Oberon