Press

Edith Eisler, May 7, 2002, New York Concert Review

Kate Dillingham, cello 
Blair McMillen, piano
Merkin Concert Hall
April 16, 2002

American cellist Kate Dillingham has an interesting background, which seems to be divided between the United States and Russia. In this country, she was a scholarship student at Rutgers University, where she studied with Bernard Greenhouse; in Russia, she studied with Prof. Maria Tschaikovskaya of the Moscow Conservatory, and completed a master course with her in Germany, where she also performed the Haydn D major Concerto. She made her debut as orchestral soloist in Russia in 1998 with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Moscow Chamber Orchestra "The Seasons," and went back in 1999 to perform and record the two Haydn concertos with the latter group; the recording was released in 2001 by Connoisseur Society Records.

The Merkin Hall concert was Ms. Dillingham's New York recital debut, but she is clearly a seasoned performer; her stage presence is poised, natural and dignified, without fuss or show. She is also an excellent cellist: her technique is solid and reliable, though not overly brilliant, her tone is focused, warm and flexible, if not very powerful; her musical approach is serious, intelligent, respectful of the composer and sensitive to style and idiom. Her playing is concentrated and direct, but generally introverted and reticent; a stronger sense of emotional involvement and more unrestrained projection would make it even more compelling. Pianist Blair McMillen contributed greatly to the high quality of the performance; with the piano on the small stick, he was a strong, supportive partner, and the two artists' rapport was close and radiated mutual respect and affection.

An adventurous, dedicated champion of contemporary music, Ms. Dillingham has commissioned and premiered numerous new works, including two by composers well-known in their native Russia: Mikhail Ermolaev Kollontay and Michael Zeiger. On this occasion, she presented the world premiere of two works by American women composers: Augusta Read Thomas' "Chant," written in 1989 for the Fisher Duo, but revised  in 2002 on Ms. Dillingham's commission, and the Suite for Solo Cello by Jennifer Higdon, written in 1990. "Chant" consists of several distinct, contrasting but interrelated sections, played without pause. It opens with a lengthy, singing cello solo in the instrument's stratospheric register; the piano enters with a series of crashing chords. The music traverses many moods and exploits the resources of both instruments very skillfully. The Suite by Jennifer Higdon, who was present at the recital, is in three movements, the first driving and motoric, the second singing and lyrical, the third a dance in irregular rhythms. Both works are very difficult technically and musically; both were performed with admirable control, conviction and authority.

The rest of the program encompassed music of many periods, styles and nationalities. It opened with Bach's Gamba Sonata No. 2, played with restraint, austerity and fine interplay between the instruments. Schumann's "Five Pieces in Folk Style" were played very well, but their sometimes whimsical and playful, sometimes spooky quality could have been delineated more sharply. Debussy's Sonata was languid and impressionistic, but here too, the contrasts needed more definition. In Joaquin Nin's "Suite Espanole" the playing gained more freedom and spontaneity; each piece had its own character and their Spanish flavor sounded thoroughly authentic. A sizeable audience responded with warm enthusiasm and was rewarded with a transcription of Debussy's "Minstrels" as an encore.