JULIET KURTZMAN & PETE MALINVERNI – Candlelight (Love in the Time of Cholera)
Saranac Records: SR1020
Juliet Kurtzman (violin) Pete Malinverni (piano) No recording dates given
“Music”, says Dr Juvenal Urbino, one of the central characters in Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s novel `Love in the Time of Cholera, “is important for one’s health”. As a man of science his approach is pragmatic whereas for his rival in matters of the heart, Florentino Ariza, it is an expression of passion which he articulates through his serenades on the violin at the window of his beloved. For both characters their love of music serves both as a powerful means of communication and solace as they live out the narrative of their lives against the backdrop of a society in the grip of a cholera epidemic and civil war. The parallels with our situation today are obvious and have inspired Kurtzman and Malinverni to join forces in a recital that they hope will provide both a healing balm and a means of uniting us, through the love of beautiful music, at this time of pandemic and political turbulence.
Whether their selection of pieces will have the desired therapeutic effect will depend upon your personal tastes and readers of these pages may find their Palm-Court style interpretations of music by Bix Beiderbecke, Scott Joplin, and tango genius Piazolla, excessively suave. Kurtzman is a classical musician of obvious distinction and whilst she invests her Beiderbecke pieces like `Davenport Blues` with a jaunty swagger and a degree of insouciance she doesn’t stray far from the scored melodies. Her tone is pure, her execution precise but somewhat bereft of those risk taking attributes that make for jazz performance, consequently she comes over with more authenticity in her performance of the several tangos that feature in the programme; the genre veering closer to the formality of classical music.
Of these there are two tango flavoured originals by pianist Malinverni who, of the pair, is the one who claims jazz credentials. Sadly, he doesn’t get much opportunity to demonstrate his prowess as he is cast, largely, in the role of accompanist which he performs impeccably. Of his few solo passages his faintly `stride` extemporisations in their version of `Body and Soul` come closest to fulfilling the jazz brief but one senses that his encounter with the sedate world of classical music may have cowed his primal instincts.
If the above seems ungenerous then let me point out that it is written from the perspective of a jazz fan for a jazz blog read by other jazz fans. If I were writing as a fully-fledged music critic my comments might take on a markedly different tone but I’ll concede that as a recital of beautifully performed, refined, melodic music it can’t be faulted and many listeners may derive much in the way of comfort and solace from the glow of the duo’s artistic and altruistic intentions.
.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
Saranac Records: SR1020
Juliet Kurtzman (violin) Pete Malinverni (piano) No recording dates given
“Music”, says Dr Juvenal Urbino, one of the central characters in Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s novel `Love in the Time of Cholera, “is important for one’s health”. As a man of science his approach is pragmatic whereas for his rival in matters of the heart, Florentino Ariza, it is an expression of passion which he articulates through his serenades on the violin at the window of his beloved. For both characters their love of music serves both as a powerful means of communication and solace as they live out the narrative of their lives against the backdrop of a society in the grip of a cholera epidemic and civil war. The parallels with our situation today are obvious and have inspired Kurtzman and Malinverni to join forces in a recital that they hope will provide both a healing balm and a means of uniting us, through the love of beautiful music, at this time of pandemic and political turbulence.
Whether their selection of pieces will have the desired therapeutic effect will depend upon your personal tastes and readers of these pages may find their Palm-Court style interpretations of music by Bix Beiderbecke, Scott Joplin, and tango genius Piazolla, excessively suave. Kurtzman is a classical musician of obvious distinction and whilst she invests her Beiderbecke pieces like `Davenport Blues` with a jaunty swagger and a degree of insouciance she doesn’t stray far from the scored melodies. Her tone is pure, her execution precise but somewhat bereft of those risk taking attributes that make for jazz performance, consequently she comes over with more authenticity in her performance of the several tangos that feature in the programme; the genre veering closer to the formality of classical music.
Of these there are two tango flavoured originals by pianist Malinverni who, of the pair, is the one who claims jazz credentials. Sadly, he doesn’t get much opportunity to demonstrate his prowess as he is cast, largely, in the role of accompanist which he performs impeccably. Of his few solo passages his faintly `stride` extemporisations in their version of `Body and Soul` come closest to fulfilling the jazz brief but one senses that his encounter with the sedate world of classical music may have cowed his primal instincts.
If the above seems ungenerous then let me point out that it is written from the perspective of a jazz fan for a jazz blog read by other jazz fans. If I were writing as a fully-fledged music critic my comments might take on a markedly different tone but I’ll concede that as a recital of beautifully performed, refined, melodic music it can’t be faulted and many listeners may derive much in the way of comfort and solace from the glow of the duo’s artistic and altruistic intentions.
.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
