Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

Julia Fischer and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Photo: mine 2009

Before taking off for Chicago this weekend, I drove down to Orange County to see Julia Fischer and The Academy of St. Martin in the Field on their current tour, which stopped in at the Segerstrom Concert Hall. I won’t go on about it other than to say all of the hype around Fischer is true. She was freaking amazing. The program consisted of two works from 20th-century British composers, Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge and Walton’s Sonata for Strings. Under Fisher’s guidance, these two pieces were given full-blooded, dramatic readings that seemed much larger than the ensemble generating them. Sandwiched between these two works were two Bach violin concertos that Fischer played with a perfect touch. Straightforward without unnecessary or melodramatic over-reading, both pieces came off beautifully. Fischer’s attack was perfect – not too aggressive but not too reverent either. Her command of the proceedings was beyond question, and, I have to say, this is one of the more remarkable performances of these works I’ve heard in awhile. Fischer and the ensemble have just released a recording of the Concertos on Decca as well. All of this bodes especially well for her upcoming L.A. Philharmonic appearances which, based on this sampling, would be highly recommended.

Labels: Julia Fischer, Orange County Events