 
If you're as cultured as I am, you know that "soirée," from the French word for evening, means a party - at which lots of beer is usually swilled. Then Alexei and violinist Mikhail Simonyan played the very lively 'Valse-scherzo, Op. 34', by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Misha actually danced a bit as his bow flew across the strings. We in the audience could hardly sit still either. Grace returned for a work called 'Libertango', by Astor Piazzolla, arranged for cello, piano, and violin. This energetic piece seemed to move up and down quite a bit; it might be described as a fast wagon ride on a slightly bumpy Roman road. The interplay among the musicians was terrific to hear and see, especially from only ten feet away. Unless you're Harold Weller (Las Vegas Philharmonic's Conductor), you don't get to witness that up-close at the Philharmonic. The first movement, played 'Andante', or, "calmly," started with Inna playing very low notes on her violin and Grace Lin playing impossibly high notes on the cello. I don't know how she hung onto those notes. They were higher than even most violins ever play, and the sound was downright eerie. The second movement was faster and should have been somewhat lively, but the piece had been written during the Stalin era, and Prozac hadn't yet been invented. Alexei rolled out the piano chords and notes with the intense concentration of someone operating a delicate, finely-tuned machine that might fly apart at any moment. The slightly mischievous sound of the plucked strings was still rather dark, as if depicting someone evading the guards at a gulag. Evidently, "Allegro non troppo" means "happy, but only until you get caught." The third movement, played 'Largo', was heavier and gave me the impression of the musicians playing against, rather than with, one another, as if locked in struggle. The final movement was  Playing music such as this requires tremendous concentration, and I loved seeing how it showed in the players' faces and postures. Inna would often finish a difficult violin phrase with a look of being overwhelmed by the emotion of it. Alexei would coil over the keyboard during intense sections as if ready to pounce upon it. Grace played with a calm look of thoughtful focus, as if listening to a professor's lecture - even when playing a very difficult bit, which she often did. Misha swayed and grinned with his violin with the smug confidence of a rock star facing a crowd of screaming girls. All of them had tremendous presence and made the most difficult music look almost easy.After a rousing ovation, we were treated to an encore when Alexei and Misha played, after all that dark serious stuff, some very energetic variations on a theme of 'Yankee Doodle'! Around and around they went, playing faster and faster, Misha fiddling furiously and Alexei grinning up at him from the piano without missing a beat. A second encore gave us a Brahms-arranged Hungarian dance, just as lively. Wow! We had as much fun listening as the musicians obviously had playing. Back in the main house after the performance, I was lucky enough to speak with the young musicians, who were as charming as they were gifted. Inna even gave me a quick primer in violin bowing, positioning my arms properly as she and the concertmaster from our own Las Vegas Philharmonic explained the phrasing and timing involved in their challenging art. What a treat! Remember their names, folks. We're going to hear much more from these musicians in the coming years, in this country and around the world. They're some of the best we have. It felt both ennobling and humbling to be among these people, and it was wonderful to be surrounded by so many others who appreciate such fine art. I felt as lucky as if I had won the Philharmonic's fund-raising Jaguar raffle - which, by the way, is still on, if you like really fine cars as much as great music. I went home that night with a warmth inside that you don't feel in this town after about August and a feeling of wanting to hug somebody. Now that's what I call a soireé! — By Robert LaGrone, Las Vegas Entertainment Writer for Jetsetters Magazine.     |
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Handing my car keys to the valet, I entered the spacious home of Dr. Monte and Jeanne Greenawalt and soon found all the senior staff of the Philharmonic, and spent a half hour meeting other avid supporters of the Las Vegas performing arts. Then the guests, one hundred or so, meandered across the lovely manicured grounds to a separate building set up for the evening's performance. The windows were open to the pleasant autumn night air as we took our seats.