At Friday’s North Carolina Symphony concert in Raleigh, “The chief attraction was a new concerto for double bass by N.C. composer Terry Mizesko,” writes John Lambert on Friday (2/2) at CVNC.org. Mizesko’s “original works and arrangements, too, have enjoyed widespread performances by the North Carolina Symphony (from which he recently retired as bass trombonist) and by numerous other orchestras. The new piece is a significant addition to a repertory that is minuscule in comparison with concerti for higher string instruments…. The new work is in fact a collaborative effort, jointly forged by Mizesko and soloist [Principal Bass] Leonid Finkelshteyn. The 33-minute work falls into four parts, each inspired in large measure by folksong and folk dances … [with] Yiddish themes in the opening and closing movements, mention of a march-like second movement, and a summoning up of Mahler and Bruckner in the scherzo. There’s a good deal more to it than that…. The soloist played with superb attention to the score’s myriad felicitous details…. Conductor Grant Llewellyn clearly relished his work with Finkelshteyn … with particularly effective call-and-response handoffs to concertmaster Brian Reagin and consistently fine work from the lower strings.… The response of the large audience was enthusiastic.”
Posted February 6, 2018
