The Palm Beach Daily News
March 3, 0217
The Chamber Music Society of Palm Beach brought violinist Stephen Waarts to the Rosarian Academy as part of its Young Concert Artists program. Accompanied by pianist Chelsea Wang, the duo gave a reading of assorted works Thursday, including a few pieces rearranged for violin and piano.
The operative words above are ÒyoungÓ and Òreading.Ó Waarts is an impressive technician, but has the same pitfalls as many young performers. While there is no question his playing is accurate, there was little in it beyond that. Yes, he played all of the notes as they were written, and played them well, but contributed little of his own musicality to take them beyond the page.
The concert opened with Wolfgang Amadeus MozartÕs Violin Sonata No. 21 in E minor, K304. The sound of the duo was in sync, with WaartsÕs bright sound pairing with WangÕs light piano touch. A passage without vibrato worked well toward the end of the first section of the opening movement. The second movement was more lyrical, but did not seem to move past the page. The ending snuck up on the duo, and not for the last time that evening.
