By Danny Gaisin
Ontario Arts Review
The guest soloist- renowned clarinettist Giampiero Sobrino teased the audience with Debussy's diminutive first clarinet rhapsody. His physical style may from the ‘Sammy Kaye’ school; which can a little distracting, but his mastery of the instrument is non-pareil. When he performed Von Weber’s Concerto no. 2, the audience was aurally mesmerized. The andante-tempoed Romanza 2nd movement… popular with the new-format classical-lite stations; was performed so precisely and with such feeling that this attentive listener’s throat began to lump up. It speaks volumes about the Brott Festival and the NAO that they can attract such luminaries!
Unter-Konductor Geneviève Leclair took the podium for the sprightly & bright Rossini overture to his “Italian girl in Algiers”. This opera, a dramma magiocoso, tells the story of Isabella- a sort of ‘Wonder Woman’. Cross the Med; rescue your lover; free the slaves and head back home for dinner. Just like my wife! Leclair brought out every nuance of the piece and bestowed such a impacting aspect to her reading that I could smell the salt air. Were it not for Senore Sobrino, this would have been the evening’s apex! Her program notes were no slouch either. Granted they were written from a musicological viewpoint but certainly informative and erudite. Future audiences…READ; Memorize!