By Hans Bratche
On a cool Thursday in September I attended a flute and piano recital at one of the Julliard School spaces they have for small recitals and I truly enjoyed myself. The venue was very small but I felt it was perfect for the occasion. Every seat was filled and as my friend and I walked in we were greeted with smiling faces. As I sat and waited for the show to start, I looked at the program and got excited as I saw some great selections on the program.
Nikka Gershman, flute and Saul Ibarra, piano, had a great professional chemistry that showed how much they practiced together. As a musician I enjoyed watching them both. They chose a great program that showcased their many talents with amazing composers like Debussy, Paganini, and Rachmaninoff. Nikka was even brave enough to add in an original composition, ‘When we used to Dance’, which was very lovely and reminded me a lot of childhood and nostalgia. My favorite piece to listen to had to definitely be Paganini’s 24th caprice. In my opinion it’s an excellent showpiece that even if the crowd doesn’t know, they will surely enjoy. Niccolo Paganini was an amazing composer from the 1800s that was given the name ‘ the Devil’s Violinist’ by society because of how good his playing was. They gave him this name as a way of saying he must have sold his soul to the devil to have such amazing playing ability. I myself don’t believe that story, however I see how talent could make one think such things. Program notes from the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra state: “Paganini’s romantic personality and adventures created in his own day the legend of a Mephistophelean figure. Stories circulated that he was in league with the devil and that he had been imprisoned for murder..” Just because of who he was, people judged him left and right. I feel people were just jealous of his talent and lifestyle and couldn’t understand it so they had to come up with something.
Nikka’s edition of the piece was very beautiful and very thought through. I love when you can see the performers because you can see how hard they worked, and I feel like I could definitely see that in her interpretation I’m not sure how good this was for her, as I’ve heard this piece on the violin and it seems so smooth and seamless. Hearing it on the flute is very different as the player has to breathe, unlike the violin where it’s all in your hands. As Nikka took her breaths, there were additional pauses I haven’t heard in the other performances I’ve heard. I also feel the quality of her flute could be better. Her playing was exceptional, however I feel I heard a lot of squeaks and I’m not sure if that is normal or technical or physical.
I also really enjoyed hearing Rachmaninoff’s elegy. The melody is very beautiful and feels transformative. People rarely perform this piece classically and I feel it’s overlooked, but this piece is another nostalgic piece of true sadness. And Saul, the pianist, did a great job of displaying this throughout his playing. Saul is a great player who I ended up truly admiring by the end of the night. He had his music in front of him but was so locked in he barely looks up and was just so immersed into the piano keys that it drew his audience in. He did a great job of showing his technical skill as an accompanist but when it came to playing on his own, he excelled. His musicality was great and his performance skills were even better. Saul really never spoke to the audience until the end of the concert, but Nikka did speak throughout giving us some background on the pieces they were going to play. The recital was very short and the crowd loved it so much. They screamed ‘encore’ and the pair came out and performed one last piece. It was a lovely night and I’m glad I went.
Overall, I feel their choices of music were great, but the venue could have definitely been better or at least bigger. I would’ve loved to hear more from the players, as the concert felt very short and sweet. I admire both of them for their great talent and their professionalism. I strive to one day walk out in front of many people and just blow them away with my playing. I hear an encore for the crowd as I head backstage. I’m sure that must have been a great feeling.
