Charles Wadsworth & Friends Encore at the Lucas

December 1, 2007

Charles Wadsworth, back in town for Saturday night's chamber music concert at the Lucas, is relying increasingly on Associate Director, cellist Edward Arron, to assist him in his musical commentaries. Fortunately, Arron comes across as an astute, accomplished performer. For their second appearance in this season's Savannah Concert Association series, Wadsworth and Arron were joined by two superb musicians, pianist Jeremy Denk and violinist Soovin Kim. The program featured works by Bach, Ives, Liszt and Dvorak. Arron and Denk opened with a delightful rendering of Bach's Sonata in D Major for Cello and Piano, BWV 1028 (originally for Viola da gamba and Harpsichord). Kim next joined Denk for an adventurous, entertaining reading of Ives' Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano. A broken violin string added a touch of drama to the occasion. A standing ovation followed Denk's breathtaking performance of Liszt's Rhapsodie Espagnole. To close, all three musicians gave a sensitive, impassioned performance of Dvorak's Trio No. 3 in F Minor.

— Review by Sterling Adams