Bashmet leads SPCO on dark journey with bow and baton

ROB HUBBARD, Pioneer Press Article

Pity the poor viola. While the violin has its pick of concert showpieces, its melancholy cousin is forced to play, well, second fiddle.

But it receives its due at this weekend's St. Paul Chamber Orchestra concerts, thanks to master violist Yuri Bashmet. Presenting a contemporary program filled with dark emotions, Bashmet and the strings of the orchestra tapped into a sense of sadness and loss that emerged in every work played at Minneapolis' Temple Israel Thursday night.

How modern is the music on this program? Well, look at it this way: The oldest piece presented is by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, who remains the Minnesota Orchestra's conductor laureate. His late-40s Symphony for Stringshad a troubled tone that brightened in a festive finale.

Among two short works featuring Bashmet as soloist, the standout was Igor Raykhelson's Adagio for Viola and Strings. Solemn and moving on either end, it had at its heart a wild waltz reminiscent of Shostakovich.