June 10, 2016, CH
Richard Galliano - City Chamber Orchestra - Jean Thorel
Vivaldi - Villa-Lobos - Piazolla - Galliano
I came to know polyglot musician Richard Galliano through his magnificent Bach album, which I first borrowed from the library. I liked it so much that I bought the CD.
The first half comprised an arrangement of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, for bandoneon, two violins, viola, cello and bass (same as in the Bach album). Although Bach himself had arranged much of Vivaldi successfully, Galliano's working of Vivaldi, unlike his Bach, was only intermittently successful. The bandoneon frequently gets tripped in both fast and slow passages. The string players of the CCOHK are marvelous. In particular, the playing of Concertmaster Amelia Chan was magnificent, completely fluid, and she frequently stole the limelight from Galliano!
Second-half opened without soloist, in a tidy rendition of Villa Lobos Bachianas Brasilerias No. 9, but I personally would like a larger orchestra (or a smaller space) for this composer's mostly sec works.
Piazolla's Aconcagua Concerto found Galliano in his true elements. Simply magnificent, and imho as good as the master's own! If only the strait-laced percussion (drum and tympani) had more Latin flavor!
Then came Galliano's La Valse a Margaux, a beautiful old-styled waltz played to perfection.
The encores were magnificent. The first was a potpurri - I think Galliano's own, maybe partly improvised. I heard everything, a trace of Bach here, maybe Widor too? And then Piazolla and so forth. Great stuff! Then came Piazolla's smoky Oblivion (with orchestral accompaniment) that rounded out a very nice evening.
The smoky piece is Oblivion as the last encore
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