The Italian title of this divine set translates as “Elegy for a shadow.” Dedicated to the violinist’s deceased mother, it has the aura of a profound tribute, as much to a musical attitude as to a person. In prelude to this program of primarily Italian New Music, and twice again before its end, Makarski offers a sumptuously introspective reading of sections of Sonata No. 7 by Giuseppe Tartini, the 18th century fountainhead of violin composition. Her feel for the baroque is all the more shocking as she follows it with the lunar modernism of Luigi Dallapiccola’s “Due Studi” (on which she’s joined by the determined, impressive Larcher). The title piece, Goffredo Petrassi’s “Elogio,” seems to synthesize the Tartini and Dallapiccola, as Makarski explores corridors of timeless solitude. Works by Luciano Berio (darkly spaced), Elliott Carter (musing angularity) and George Rochberg (gorgeously melodic) round out the program before an anonymous 14th century Italian work for solo violin reminds us that there’s more than a casual connection between Early Music and the latest thinking about silence and sound. A must for all sorts of listeners. —George Tysh
George Tysh is Metro Times arts editor. E-mail him at [email protected].
