By Lyn Bronson

Violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky & Conductor Andrew Sewell

Saturday night at Sherwood Hall was substitution night, in a manner of speaking. We heard a program selected by one conductor, yet presented by another. Originally Italian conductor Giampaolo Bisanti conceived of the program as a tribute to Italian and American music. However, an opportunity in the recording studio created a conflict, thus on this occasion we heard as a substitute, guest conductor Andrew Sewell, a native of New Zealand, and conductor of the Wichita Symphony since 2000.

It was a peculiar program. The opening work, Hermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s Overture to Il Segreto di Susanna (The Secret of Susanna) was incredibly brief. Susanna’s secret turned out to be that she was a closet smoker, a fact she managed to successfully conceal from her husband. However, the brevity of this overture suggested that she never managed to sneak more than a few brief puffs at any one time.

Another brief work was Michael Dougherty’s tribute to the great Paul Robeson, a charming and well written piece. Not so brief, was “Four Concert Pieces” by Giuseppe Martucci, a group of solo piano pieces orchestrated by the composer, which, despite being nicely performed, failed to make any lasting impression.

The real substance on the program was the brilliant performance by 26-year-violinist Alexander Sitkovetsky of Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 6. This kid’s got major chops! We heard virtuoso passage work, fabulously in-tune harmonics, and lots of soul. This was rich vibrant playing that was always masterful and compelling. He richly deserved the prolonged standing ovation he received.

The program ended with a loud and boisterous performance of Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio italien. Although the performance was larger than life, its tunes and Neapolitan dances never fail to make a powerful impression, and so they did on this occasion.

End