“George Enescu Festival: Family and friends come together for great music!
I had a sense last night that George Enescu would have loved the concert, the second of three in Toronto’s inaugural George Enescu Festival. Joe Ringhofer, in his pre-concert chat, quoted George Enescu who once said, “The sacred mission of music is to bring souls together”. Enescu would have enjoyed the variety of great music bringing together family, friends and community, much as he did as a violinist, conductor and composer. […]The music was engaging and uplifting. George Enescu’s Sérénade lointaine was a lyrically sensuous work that seemed to express Enescu’s longing for his homeland. The contrast with the following two works was striking. Israeli composer Ilan Rechtman in his selections from Jazzicals for Piano Trio and American composer Paul Schoenfeld in his Café Music transported the audience to a New Orleans music hall with its Dixieland, blues and ragtime music. For these classically trained musicians, this was the music of a different world. The trio responded as though it was as much in their DNA as Chopin, Bach or Brahms. The lightning speed and intricate syncopations were toe-tappingly exhilarating.” David Richards for Toronto Concert Reviews
The Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, by Johannes Brahms
👏👏👏Michael Berkovsky (piano), Conrad Chow (violin), David Hetherington (cello), Barry Shiffman (viola), and Nuné Melik (violin).