It should come as no surprise that there is a large pool of excellent musicians in the area. Albuquerque Chamber Soloists knows well how to tap that resource to create ad hoc ensembles ranging from duets to a chamber orchestra. Hence the designation "Concert Extravaganza: The Big Bash" for Thursday evening's presentation was most apropos.

Performances of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," Copland's "Appalachian Spring" and Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 gave rise to the concert's whimsical subtitle, "Two American Idols and Big Daddy, J.S. Bach."

The fifth Brandenburg Concerto in D major highlights three soloists, flute, violin and keyboard— in this case, piano. Flutist Christine Saari, joined Leonard and Arlette Felberg, violin and piano respectively. The Albuquerque Chamber Soloists' Chamber Orchestra began the work with crisp, clean articulation and a vivid sense of style, the three soloists quickly following suit. A good deal of dynamic variation brought a sparkle to the opening Allegro, especially an ethereal middle section cleverly cast in pianissimo.

The fifth is the only one of the six Brandenburgs to employ a keyboard part, and it is a doozy. The solo cadenza goes on for pages, introducing difficult bravura writing the likes of which would not be seen again for another half century.

While it is assumed Bach wrote the part for himself, Arlette Felberg most assuredly made it hers by virtue of immaculate articulation and clear, communicative phrasing. Pristine passagework and rippling triplets came dancing from her keyboard, until the entire ensemble re-entered with that ever-memorable opening theme. Flute and violin spun long, luxurious melodic lines in the Affetuoso, followed by a jaunty and jovial final Allegro.

Arlette Felberg then returned to the stage along with Pamela Pyle for something both familiar and unfamiliar simultaneously. Gershwin's popular "Rhapsody in Blue" is rarely heard in this version for two pianos. While Gershwin was more a pianist than orchestrator ("Rhapsody" was actually orchestrated by Ferde Grofé), this version was the composer's original conception of the piece. More sonically percussive in nature than the version for orchestra, the jazz-inspired rhythms and "blue" harmonies are well-suited to the piano.

The two players could not have been more evenly matched in execution, creating the impression of one 176-key piano, played with such vivacity as to bring the Immanuel Presbyterian Church audience immediately to its feet.

For the second half of the program, conductor David Felberg led the Chamber Orchestra in Copland's "Appalachian Spring" (Suite for 13 players). While the work is most remembered for Copland's use of the famous Shaker tune, "Tis a gift to be simple," the bulk of the piece is his own characteristic dialectic between folklike melodies and complex rhythms.

Felberg carefully negotiated the many unconventional rhythmic twists and turns, helped by the excellent playing of the winds especially— flutist Saari, along with Lori Lovato, clarinet; and Stefanie Przybylska, bassoon— achieving the second well-deserved standing ovation of the evening.





Chamber Soloists Embark on 'Voyage' By D.S. Crafts. For the Journal, January 10, 2006

"A Voyage Back-From contemporary Estonia, to Czarist Russia, to the Austria of Amadeus" was the title of Sunday's concert by the Albuquerque Chamber Soloists, performing music of Pärt, Mozart and Tchaikovsky at the St. Paul Lutheran Church packed to capacity. Fratres by the Estonian mystic Arvo Pärt is a work for violin and piano. Based generally in the style of minimalism, the work consists of slow-moving chords in repeating patterns on the piano, above which the violin demonstrates in succession rapid arpeggios, double stops, then harmonics, as dexterously demonstrated by David Felberg. In Mozart's time the clarinet had only recently come into being. The most sensitive and expressive of all the winds, it found immortalization in two of Mozart's most sublime works, the Concerto and the Quintet, both written near the end of his life. Clarinetist Lori Lovato, principal with the Santa Fe Symphony, gave a stunning performance of the Quintet for clarinet and strings. Chamber music is by design a group effort, but in this case, the clarinet was the star of the show. From its very first entry the instrument races breathlessly up and down as though Mozart couldn't wait to show off the myriad colors of this new and exotic instrument.The strings formed a solid framework for Lovato's sublime flights of fancy. The soulful arioso was a marvel of long, sustained melodic line. The chirpy fourth movement takes its folklike theme through Mozart's ingenious variations, giving way to a melancholy middle theme, only to return to the playful mood of the beginning. Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio is an enormous work, one of the longest in the chamber music literature. It also is a work of exquisite beauty composed in memory of his friend the pianist, Nicholas Rubinstein. Unknowingly Tchaikovsky had written the first of what would become a Russian subgenre— trios written as memorials to the dead. While the work is an expression of feeling reflecting on the composer's friendship with Rubinstein, attempts to identify any specific illustration of Rubinstein's life are misleading.The work is in two gigantic movements, both containing a very prominent and challenging piano part, no doubt in tribute Rubinstein's exceptional virtuosity. Here was Arlette Felberg's chance to shine, demonstrating brilliant pianism from robust vivacity to quiet intensity. The Andante con moto is a theme and variations movement, the final variation acting almost as a Finale, or at least a coda. The main theme is taken from Russian folk music, beloved of both men. The scherzo variation flew forth like quicksilver. The waltz section reveled in rich Russian color, while the Mazurka fairly danced off the keyboard. Violinist Leonard Felberg and cellist Felix Wurman contributed beautifully matched string parts, carefully sculpturing the music as it swings from mood to mood, sometimes tense, sometimes elegiac, sometimes confessional. All three players were in perfect sync in the final variation, singing boldly until the work ultimately closes in somber funereal tones.

Mendelssohn Octet Caps Chamber Concert by D.S. Crafts, For The Journal - October 16, 2006

Once again those families are back at it. In what has now become an anticipated annual event, two of the most respected musical families in New Mexico, the Felbergs and the Figueroas, combined their talents for a Sunday afternoon of chamber music making of the highest quality. Sponsored by the Albuquerque Chamber Soloists, the roster included the Felbergs, Leonard and David, violin, James, cello and Arlette, piano, along with the Figueroas, violinists Guillermo and his wife Valerie Turner. Rounding out the ensemble were violists Kim Fredenburgh and Philip Coonce and cellist Joanna de Keyser, accomplished veteran musicians all. From this as well as past recitals it would seem that both Mendelssohn and Brahms are favorite composers for the group. Brahms’ Piano Trio in C Major, Op. 87, brought to the stage Leonard and Arlette Felberg, joined by de Keyser. This impassioned performance was marked by evocative, even seductive playing all around. Arlette’s delicate passagework in the Scherzo conjured thrilling but ephemeral flashes of lightning before the storm fully broke. String playing in the Hungarian-influenced Andante was rich and melancholy, and the Finale waxed continually with ever higher spirits. Felix Mendelssohn wrote a full catalogue of master works for chamber ensemble, but undoubtedly the jewel in the crown is the Octet for strings. Every movement blossoms with memorable melodies, infectious rhythms and joyous spirits. But an opportunity to hear it in person is rare. Usually two string quartets are joined together. But as each group has its own style of playing, the mix is often less than satisfactory.Indeed,the more distinguished the quartet, the more individual its sound.The performance here proved an ideal solution—-not two string quartets, but eight string soloists, all families and friends whose playing meshed together congenially. And given eight parts, there was a place at the table for all the string players.A quicksilver Scherzo demonstrated how Mendelssohn paved the way for the spritely mysterious atmosphere with which he described a Midsummer Night’s Dream.But it was the Finale that virtually rocked the house. Beginning on the lowest strings, the music began to build in volume and intensity, quickly reaching a peak of frenzy never relenting until the final cadence. All around me I could see heads bobbing addictively to the repeated four notes of the main theme. Repeated four notes? Ah, but in the hands of master musicians each one becomes a distinct individual. Fully appreciative of what it had just heard, the audience at the St. Paul Lutheran Church, rose and roared in fervent celebration.