Even if you can't keep track of the string prodigies from Japan and Korea
(can China be far behind?), there are a few among the many who command
attention...  something on the order of Sarah Chang.

And so, at Davies Hall tonight, we come to 19-year-old Tamaki Kawakubo,
a slim, frail young woman who in a very few years has become a major,
important, excitingly good violinist.

As Chang at age 9 in Walnut Creek, as Kawakubo herself six (!) years ago in
her SF debut, the Los Angeles issei played the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto,
breathing new life into the old showpiece.  Importantly, it also allowed a
comparison with her performance as a child prodigy, and the good news is
that she is not only a virtuoso violinist, but also a musician who is
growing, not just getting older.

Instead of ripping into the piece -- as too many "stars" do -- Kawakubo
played with a big, warm, singing voice, beautifully supported by the
orchestra under Alasdair Neale's baton.  (Strings and woodwinds were
consistent throughout, but the brass had serious problems in the Finale.)

Kawakubo's concentration is remarkable; you would never guess how many
times she must have performed the work.  It sounded fresh, it *was* new.
Unlike some of her aging-prodigy colleagues, she also pays attention to the
conductor, plays *with* the orchestra.  Her instrument is the 1707
"Cathedral" Stradivarius (on loan from the Mandell Collection) -- a
nickname well deserved.

Audiences here rarely applaud between movements, but the big first movement
tonight was justly rewarded.  At the end, there was genuine, heartfelt
ovation.  Kawakubo will be welcomed back in San Francisco any time, with
anything she wants to play.

Neale's programming worked well: there was a fine symmetry in opening
the concert with Kernis' "Musica Celestis" (he speaks of Hildegaard of
Bingen as inspiration, but I hear -- very clearly -- "variations on the
`Lohengrin' Prelude") and closing it with the Vaughan Williams Second
Symphony ("London").  Across the Atlantic and 60 years, the two works share
atmosphere and musical vocabulary.  Neale's dedication to the two composers
shined through the performance.

Janos Gereben/SF
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