24. September 2003,  02:14, Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Each one a soloist

“I Sinfonietti 01” in the Tonhalle Zürich

The name suggests the year 2001. In that year, the young violinist Georges-Emmanuel Schneider founded the orchestra with the help of his friends and colleagues, and to date many highly qualified musicians from nineteen different nations still play in it. “I Sinfonietti 01” remained true to their goal, and also in their third Zürich appearance, they devoted themselves consequently to music of the 20th century. The program did not include a world premiere this time, but Alban Berg’s “Kammerkonzert” was no less than a small sensation. The unusual orchestration and intangible character of the piece may be reasons why it is seldom played in concert halls. The 22 year old Israeli conductor Noam Zur did not try to soften this unruly rebelliousness, but rather spotlighted it and made it a “motto” for the performance, clashing the counterpoint of thirteen individual wind instruments against each other. Schneider (solo-violin) and Hanny Schmid Wyss on the piano added to the heterogeneous character of the composition.

The musicians of the orchestra could show that they are extraordinary soloists in Igor Stravinsky’s “Dumbarton Oaks Concerto” and in the “Metamorphosen” of Richard Strauss as well. Even though the middle part of the introductory Concerto there were still a few weak spots, the “Metamorphosen” were played by the 23 solo-strings with a captivating sound and an ingenious shaping of the individual phrases. “Le Tombeau de Couperin” of Maurice Ravel gave “I Sinfonietti” a chance to play a “real” orchestral piece at the end of the concert. The conductor literally bloomed, and under his guidance the musicians brought a past to life, looked at through a prism of the present.

Zürich, Tonhalle, Kleiner Saal, 22. September.

The Original in German can be found at NZZ Online: http://www.nzzamsonntag.ch/2003/09/24/ku/page-article946DC.html

Copyright © Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG