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ogy (which he is sure even most musicians do not understand), those who speak of the form of musical compositions, and those who. he says, feel that they know all about a piece i of music when they know its 1 name Mr. Shirley may be right, but it is your reviewer’s opinion that one knows somewhat less about a piece of music 'when he doesn't even know its , name.i| However, (to use the artist’s favorite word), all quibbling j aside, the Shirley trio cbvious-I ly knows the secret of pleasing an audience. The leader of this group displays marked talent and a high degree of subtlety in his showmanship as well as in his artistry and mastery of his instrument Shirley is an artist to be reckoned with as are also the other two able and well-trained gentlemen who round out the trip, Juri Toht, cellist, and Kenneth Frieker, bassist. Mr. Taht’s performance produced moments of warmth and delightful depth of tone while Mr. Frieker gave a magnificent demonstration of relaxed bass technique especially in his solo rendition of the spiritual “Were you There.”However, the performance was dominated by Mr. Shirley’s remarkable technical versatility. The tones he draws from the piano are rich and seductively velvety, in fact too much so at times when, as in the Gershwini include a Scarlatti sonata (K major) which was the high point of Mr. Shirley’s solo work; Bach’s “Sheep May Safely Graze,” and Schumann’s“Traumerei.” These two latter caused one to wonder if the performer’s reason for using mostly his own arrangements is merely and harmlessly egotistical or whether it might not ibe that, when he performs Ms . own arrangements, he keeps the I average listener from detecting ' mistakes. We do feel that, if the pianist knows Robert Schumann '(and really Mr. Shirley does not look old enough for this) to call him “Bob” he ou^ht to be able to strike a few more of the “right” notes.However, it is not the function of the reviewer to listen for errors, and it is the function of the entertainer to entertain. This the Don ShirleyTrio accomplished with considerable skill. Your reviewer has not been so highly entertained in many a month, and the audience in general seemed to share in this delight.Don Shirley is a man with amessage, and although we are assured more conclusively as to what it is not rather than as to what it is and we wonder if he knows, still he is a great showman and a talented young man in a group of talented young men. All in all, we “had a blast!”MARY PAULHAMUS
Newspaper Details
News
Frederick, Maryland, US
Tue, Oct 11, 1966
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Frederick C.
MD, USA 12 Mar 2022
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