by Camerata San Antonio | Dec 13, 2016 | Reviews
“The memory has to board the way-back machine and set the dial to 1992 and a Ravinia Festival appearance by Shura Cherkassky to find a suitable comparison with the pianist Viktor Valkov’s bravura recital for Camerata San Antonio, Dec. 4 in the University of the Incarnate Word concert hall.
Mr. Valkov, a native of Bulgaria and a doctoral candidate at Rice University, is a familiar figure hereabouts, mostly in chamber music. He was entirely on his own for this Camerata recital. The generous program leaned strongly in the Romantic direction, and it was in that repertoire that the comparison to Cherkassky was clearest — the brilliant technique, the kaleidoscopic color, the sheer fun.”
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by Camerata San Antonio | Sep 25, 2016 | Reviews
“Composed in 1843, Schumann’s pioneering work — the first major piece to combine piano and string quartet — remains one of the most commanding peaks of Romantic chamber music. Visiting and local ensembles have performed it several times hereabouts in recent years, always with a cautiousness that left too much of the music’s overflowing life on the page.
But this performance spread its wings and soared as I’ve never heard it before. The manic opening allegro, the giddy, propulsive scherzo and the bold finale were fleet, agile and seamless, compelling from first to last. In the funeral march, the repeating rhythmic pattern took on a death-rattle chill. Mr. Valkov’s crisp diction, deeply etched rhythms and brilliant technique contributed immeasurably to the results and perfectly complemented the string quartet’s taut precision and big, radiant sound. The whole came off as surprisingly contemporary, as if this 19th-century piece would have been just as much at home in Sam’s Burger Joint as in a traditional concert hall.”
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by Camerata San Antonio | Jul 31, 2016 | Reviews
“The current roster …[is] the strongest in Camerata’s history, and the intervening years have forged an increasingly cohesive, spirited and intelligent ensemble, now fully equal to the best string quartets on the international circuit.” Read more at incidentlight.com http://incidentlight.com/Music%20reviews/camerata-san-antonio-las-americas-160112.html
by Camerata San Antonio | Apr 28, 2016 | Reviews
“…Camerata San Antonio’s splendid string quartet, abetted by the Denver-based bandoneónist Evan Orman, offered a delightful program of music by the Argentine tango master Astor Piazzolla and some of the composers who influenced him. ” April 28, 2015. Read more at Incident Light.
by Camerata San Antonio | Jan 17, 2015 | Reviews
“…robust and red-blooded… splendid perpetrators” January 17, 2015. Read more at Incident Light.
by Camerata San Antonio | Nov 25, 2014 | Reviews
“All the performances were taut, lively and well-prepared, excellent on both the ensemble and the individual levels. “November 25, 2014. Read more at Incident Light.
