Ariela Bohrod: Duo Recital

Beginning her program with the first movement of Beethoven's Sonata No. 16 in G Major, Ariela Bohrod lived up to every bit of the movement's 'Allegro vivace' label. She combined a sprightly, pleasant sound with good command. She managed to be very sure of herself and in control of the piece without being obnoxious... and just when you thought the piece was over, she launched herself back in with great big scales. I really enjoyed listening to her play that piece.

After the Beethoven came Brahms's Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2, which Bohrod played with violinist Jennifer Startt. This was another very elegant, walk-in-the-country sort of a piece, where she was constantly responding to the violins call. There were lots of outspoken chords over the top of which Startt played. She seemed to play well with Startt without being subdued or overly deferent.

Closing out the duo-recital portion of the competition, as well as Bohrod's final piece of the evening, was Chopin's Concerto No. 2 in F minor. Pianist Stefanie Jacob stood in for the orchestra. In Bohrod's pre-piece talk, she spoke about how the concerto was criticized after it was published for being overly dominated by the piano; the orchestra, in this view, just supports the piano's part. The second movement (which went unplayed; Bohrod had to limit herself to the first movement), according to Bohrod, was Chopin's ode to an opera singer that he fell in love with but never had the guts to go and talk to. The critics were right on at least one point: the concerto was extremely piano-dominated. The orchestra doesn't have much to play around with, but Bohrod's piano was full of splendid melodies. She dominated the piece, but didn't overload the room: Bohrod served more as a guide through the piece than a trailblazer, if that makes any sense. She doesn't linger on the keys, but dances right over them.