Clef Notes and Drama Queens: A cellist with a future: Hans Kristian Goldstein - Classical music and theater in Baltimore: Critic Tim Smith writes about classical music, opera, theater, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Centerstage, and more

Of course it's insane to predict any musician's career, but what the heck. I say that cellist Hans Kristian Goldstein, the Peabody student who won the 2009 Yale Gordon Competition at the conservatory, will make it. He seems to me to have everything it takes to develop a career -- not just the raw talent, but the keen artistic impulses.

Oh yes, the Norwegian player, barely into his 20s, also has some marketing assets, which can't be discounted in the era of the superficial -- boyishly handsome looks and a rather evocative name.

Goldstein gave an impressive recital Sunday afternoon for the Music in the Great Hall series at Towson Unitarian; it also turned out to be a warm-up for a competition he has been accepted into in South Africa. That connection generated the sole contemporary item on the program, a brief, appealing, rhythmically propulsive romp by 35-year-old South African composer Bongani Ndona-Breen, "Jozi Dreamtime."

It would have been interesting to hear Goldstein tackle

some big 20th-century score, too, but that was a minor disappointment. The recital afforded an opportunity for the the cellist to show off his deep, burnished tone, and many subtle dynamic gradations of it; his intonation and articulation also proved to be considerable strengths. He never settled for merely skillful playing. He made something of phrases, and connected phrases into full, meaningful statements.

A highlight of the afternoon was his lyrical touch in Schubert's "Arpeggione"; the wistful quality he generated in the subdued closing measures proved particularly telling. Goldstein was well-partnered in that work, as throughout the concert, by the ever-reliable pianist Clinton Adams. The two musicians caught the boldness and beauty of Beethoven's A major Sonata and tapped the romantic charms of some pieces by Schumann.

The cellist treated a Boccherini sonata as if it were fully on a Mozart-worthy level, and that's how it sounded, thanks to his warmly expressive nuances. Goldstein's bravura side found vivid outlets in pieces by Tchaikovsky and David Popper. The encore, Ernest Bloch's "Prayer," received an eloquent performance.

All in all, a most satisfying encounter with young, fresh, promising talent.

P.S. Goldstein will give a free recital, presented by the Shriver Hall Concert Series, on May 8 at the BMA.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PEABODY INSTITUTE

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Hans Kristian Goldstein will be making his Chicago debut on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts on Wednesday, April 14 in a program of Beethoven and Brahms with pianist Clinton Adams. The concert is broadcast live on WMFT 98.7 FM in Chicago and streamed live at www.wfmt.com. For more information on the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, visit www.imfchicago.org.

Thanks for passing along the info. TIM

Posted by: Michael Cansfield | January 21, 2010 11:01 AM

Hans Kristian Goldstein and Clinton Adams will perform Friends of Chamber Music Inc Beethoven Variations(bei mannern), Sonata F Major op 69, Brahms F Major Sonata op 99 410 321 0553

Posted by: William Wimmer | January 21, 2010 11:50 AM

Friends of Chamber Music concert April 10 at 7:30pm 1430 francke ave lutherville 410 321-0553

Posted by: William Wimmer | January 25, 2010 10:26 PM

January 19, 2010

A cellist with a future: Hans Kristian Goldstein

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