Ohio Players

Preucil, Kim, and Rowe Trio, presented by the Music Academy of
the West. At Lotte Lehmann Hall, Tuesday, November 28.

Reviewed by Josef Woodard

Last Tuesday night at the Music Academy
of the West’s Lotte Lehmann Hall, a “what’s wrong with this
picture” feeling quickly segued into a satisfying “what’s right
with this picture” sensation. After decades of expecting and
experiencing the Music Academy of the West’s musical splendor in
its usual summertime slot, a new wrinkle has appeared with the
inaugural Advanced Strings Workshop. One happy, if initially
disarming, result was the scheduling of an engaging “off season”
chamber music recital on a late autumnal evening. On this night,
two fine string players from Ohio showed why their state is
embarrassed by its serious music riches. Cellist Eric Kim,
principal cellist of the Cincinnati Symphony, and violinist William
Preucil, concertmaster of the famed Cleveland Orchestra, were
joined by Canadian pianist Arthur Rowe, a longtime collaborator
with Preucil.

The program appeared fairly stodgy; a meat-and-potatoes stew of
Brahms, early Richard Strauss, and Mendelssohn, but the playing was
inspired and precision-geared, epitomizing the excitement and
challenge of the chamber music ethos, from players with the wisdom,
interactive antennae, and attention to detail to make any score
sing.