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Delectable Pieces$11.99 |
Mark Volkert, violin
Geraldine Walthers, viola
Jan Volkert, cello
This is the debut album of this string trio featuring Mark Volkert, assistant concertmaster of San Francisco Symphony, Geraldine Walther, former principal viola of San Francisco, and Jan Volkert, principal cello of Marin Symphony. A charming collection of late 19th and 20th Century light classical music, the pieces are arranged by Mark Volkert. Mr. Volkert presents a feast for the ears - pay close attention to: #5 in which the melody is quickly tossed around the circle of instruments, #6 and #15 in which Ms. Walther's solo viola sings so sweetly, the casual listener would mistake it for violin, and listen to Uncle Remus - every family has one - he is a "unique" individual. :-) Enjoy the music from an era of salons and soirées!
Reviews:
The names Volkert and Walther should sound familiar to anyone who regularly attends the San Francisco Symphony. Violinist Mark Volkert has served as the orchestra's assistant concertmaster since 1980, and Geraldine Walther has been principal violist since 1976. They're joined here by Volkert's wife, cellist Jan Volkert, in an appealing set of chamber works by Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Fritz Kreisler, Edward MacDowell, and Victor Herbert, arranged for string trio by Mark Volkert.
The playing abounds with a spirit of unanimity and good humor, beginning with the opening trio by Schumann (based on the composer's Sonata for Piano, Op. 118, No. 3). The players make an elegant case for this music; the individual voices are distinct, and the blend they achieve is dynamic.
Just as impressive are the Tchaikovsky "Three Pieces," which are transcribed from the composer's String Quartet No. 3; "Bohemian Dance," Op. 39, No. 14; and "Humoresque," Op. 10, No. 2. MacDowell's "Woodland Sketches," Op. 51, Kreisler's Rondino on a theme of Beethoven and "Toy Soldiers March," and Herbert's "Four Selections for String Trio," offer their share of rewards as well.
Recorded at Hollcraft Studios for Con Brio Recordings, the disc is available at the San Francisco Symphony Store, at selected local outlets and on www.amazon.com. It's highly recommended for chamber music aficionados.
Grade: A
--Georgia Rowe, Contra Costa Times
Chamber music CDs rarely contain such a diversity of composers as are collected here. Such a disc must have some additional appeal to make its release worthwhile and here it is the arrangements that provide that attraction. Mark Volkert is the driving force behind this recording yet he modestly does not refer to information about his arrangements in his CD notes. We have to turn to the case inlay to read this credit. Volkert's arrangements are attractive and are played with good pace that gives a fresh appeal to the pieces.
The playing is excellent...There is optimum balance between players...The studio acoustic adds an attractive bloom in resonance for the lower register of the cello and this gives an enhanced richness to the recording.
Raymond Walker - MusicWeb
Mark Volkert, violin
A graduate of Stanford University and pupil of Stuart Canin, Mark Volkert has been a member of the San Francisco Symphony since 1972. He is currently Associate Concertmaster. Active as a composer, Volkert has had works performed by the San Francisco and Marin Symphonies and has received commissions from the Marin Symphony, Paul Masson Vineyards, San Francisco Moving Company (ballet), Monterey Bay Aquarium, C.O.D.A. Orchestra, Marin Arts Quartet, oboist Donald Leake, and Stanford University for its centennial celebration.
Jan Volkert, cello
Jan Volkert is Principal Cellist with the Marin Symphony and has held this position since 1979, and was formerly Principal Cellist with the Modesto Symphony. She is a member of The Volkert/Ellis Trio with husband Mark Volkert, Associate Concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony, and Nancy Ellis, longtime San Francisco Symphony violist. Jan holds degrees from Dominican College of San Rafael and the Royal College of Music in London.
Geraldine Walther
Before joining the Takács Quartet at the University of Colorado, Geraldine Walther was Principal Violist of the San Francisco Symphony for 29 years. Early in her career she served as assistant principal of the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Miami Philharmonic, and the Baltimore Symphony. She studied at the Curtis Institute with Michael Tree of the Guarneri Quartet and at the Manhattan School of Music with Lillian Fuchs, and in 1979 she won first prize at the William Primrose International Competition. She had been on the music faculty of The San Francisco Conservatory, Notre Dame de Namur University, and Mills College and conducted master classes at numerous universities and festivals.
She has performed as soloist on numerous occasions with the San Francisco Symphony and given the US premieres of Michael Tippett's Triple Concerto in 1981, Tôru Takemitsu's A String Around Autumn in 1990, Peter Lieberson's Viola Concerto in 1999, George Benjamin's Viola, Viola (together with SFS Associate Principal Violist Yun Jie Liu), also in 1999, and the Viola Concerto by Robin Holloway.
In 1995 Ms. Walther was selected by Sir Georg Solti as a member of his Musicians of the World, which performed in Geneva to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations in July 1995. She has also served as principal violist with the Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego. An avid chamber musician, Ms. Walther regularly participates in leading chamber music festivals, including Marlboro, Santa Fe, Tanglewood, Bridgehampton, and, most recently, the Telluride, Seattle, and Ruby Mountain festivals, Music at Kohl Mansion, Green Music Festival in Sonoma, and the inaugural season of Music@Menlo. She has collaborated with such artists as Isaac Stern, Pinchas Zukerman, and Jaime Laredo, and appeared as a guest artist with the Vermeer, Guarneri, Lindsay, Cypress, Tokyo and St. Lawrence quartets.