Christian Tetzlaff at Cal Performances

* Notes * 
Christian Tetzlaff played Bach's complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin in Berkeley last night as part of Cal Performances 2010-2011 Koret Recital Series. In the first half he played Sonata No. 1 in G minor, Partita No. 1 in B minor, and Sonata No. 2 in A minor. It seemed he only paused briefly between pieces to tune. The contrasts in tempi and dynamics were clear. Tetzlaff was focused without sounding labored. There were a few passages that were muddy and a note or two may have been slightly squeaky, but the intensity of the playing was impressive.

After the hour-long dinner break were heard Partita No. 2 in D minor, which was incisive but passionate. After the second movement Courante Telzlaff left the stage, and when he returned he explained that there was a noise in the hall that was bothering him. He played the rest of the Partita without further incident. This was followed by Sonata No. 3 in C Major and Partita No. 3 in E Major. The music poured forth relentlessly and the sheer stamina required to play this was in and of itself extraordinary.

* Tattling * 
The audience was silent, murmuring approval after each movement, and clapping excitedly after each piece. Someone in G 5 of the orchestra level was even reading the score. There some coughing, and one person may have been asked to leave during the first half, and seemed rather offended. One watch alarm was heard at 7pm, and a cellular phone on vibrate was heard during the third Sonata.