February 19 & 20, 2009 10:30 am & 8:00 pm
Whitney Hall, KCA, Louisville
DBR, violin
Ginastera – Variaciones Concertantes
DBR – Voodoo Violin Concerto [2002]
Tchaikovsky – Symphony no. 2
Violinist Roumain proves he's unique
by Andrew Adler
The Courier-Journal
February 20, 2009
The first clue that Daniel Bernard Roumain wasn't your typical classical violinist was that he emerged Thursday, Feb. 19, on the Whitney Hall stage with dreadlocks adorning his head and a pair of blindingly red shoes adorning his feet. The second, and more important, indicator was when Roumain and the Louisville Orchestra launched into his "Voodoo Violin Concerto" No. 1: four movements' worth of heat, histrionics and (literally) "hollerin'" that delighted in testing — and often shattering — conventional notions of how a concerto should go.
I can't say that this piece, which was written in 2002 and premiered in its present form by the Vermont Youth Orchestra in 2006, was a completely successful venture. It sprawls, tossing out ideas in unabashed, underdeveloped abundance, dissolving the fourth wall between audience and soloist with gleeful, in-your-face abandon.
Yet, at least for a single hearing, the Voodoo Violin Concerto offered engaging diversion. Not the least of this was Roumain himself, who had sufficient chops to project his score's overtly technical components. Whether slashing his bow across the violin, or bending a phrase to suit his expressive ends, he compelled you to look, listen and occasionally shake your head in wonder. I do not now, nor ever again, expect to see a violin soloist hold his bow between his lips while holding the instrument like a guitar and plucking its strings.
Associate conductor Jason Weinberger and the orchestra proved sympathetic co-conspirators — musicians standing up for their solos like constituents of a big-band ensemble. The large number of high school students in the orchestra were clearly delighted, and why not?
Note: All reviews are edited for length and spelling.