Saturday night the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, conducted by David Bowden, celebrates the opening of their 25th Season with Beethoven's 5th Symphony, a piece titled "Jubilee" by the American composer Charles Whitfield Chadwick, and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Susie Park from the Eroica Trio is the soloist for the Tchaikovsky.
Elegance And Virtuosity
A recent review of Park's playing describes it as mixing "musical elegance and bristling virtuosity."
But Park herself says, "Actually, I'd say that's a perfect description of the concerto. It has incredible elegance and beauty and lyricism through the slow movement, and the virtuosity aspect definitely comes through in the cadenza with all the arpeggios and pyrotechnics as it explores the instrument and what you can do with it."
The Instrumentalist's Link With Listeners
The Columbus audience has a reputation for enthusiasm, and Park is looking forward to it. "The audience actually has a large effect on how I play. I relish the energy that I feel from the audience. If the audience is engaged and attentive, you can feel the electricity in the air. And I use that energy to throw it back out there."
Park has played the Tchaikovsky concert many times, but says it is far from routine. "Music is a living and breathing thing, and I'm a living and breathing person, so with those two elements you have something that's always fluctuating. And it's always different. For me, it's fresh and new. Each time, there's a fresh perspective on the piece."