MUSIC LIKE LIGHTNING

With tender care, maestro Mikhail Simonyan moved his bow across the strings of his violin to create the deep, sad and tragically moving music of the Canzonetta movement of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major. A guest soloist during the National Philharmonic of Russia's performance last night at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, Simonyan displayed an enormous amount of talent in playing what is considered to be a very technically difficult piece for the violin.

"I thought the Violin Concerto was beautiful," said Sutter Kiplangat, a chemistry graduate student from Kenya, "I also liked the leadership of the conductor."

Ann Kulikowski of Coventry agreed, saying that "the soloist was very impressive, and his hands moved like lightning."

The rest of the Russian Philharmonic had quite of bit of talent as well, which demonstrated in their opening piece, the Lieutenant Kijé Suite, Op. 60 by the early 20th-century composer Prokofiev. The five movements from this piece actually are part of the soundtrack to the film "Lieutenant Kijé," which was based on the satirical novella by Yury Tynianov, poking fun at the bureaucracy of Emperor Paul I of Russia.

Over the five movements, many of the moods of the film can be heard through the playful, melancholy and grand themes. One of the movements was even reminiscent of a winter carol because of the sleigh bells in the percussion.

"I thought hearing the Lieutenant Kijé suite was like standing on top of a mountain looking at other mountains," said Kewei Li, a mechanical engineering graduate student.

With a consistent showing of poise and technical mastery, it is surprising that the National Philharmonic of Russia was only formed in 2003. The creation of the orchestra came at the urging of then-Russian President Vladimir Putin to be a musical symbol of post-communist Russia. So far in its brief lifetime, the Russian Philharmonic has lived up to its lofty expectations, thanks to the leadership of conductor Vladimir Spivakov, who also happens to be a violin virtuoso in his own right.

The National Philharmonic of Russia stayed in the twentieth century for their third piece, selections from the ballet "The Fairy's Kiss Divertimento" by Igor Stravinsky. The four selections highlighted the lighter feel from this ballet which often had very playful melodies.

One of the more amazing parts of the performance was the coordination between over a hundred musicians playing all different types of instruments.

"I like watching the musicians' expressions in combination with hearing the rhythm and watching them play," said Kelly Almeida, who is working toward her master's degree in Education. "I also like hearing the melody pass between each section of the orchestra."

For their final piece of the night, the orchestra performed another piece from Tchaikovsky's vast repertoire: the Sleeping Beauty Suite, Op. 66. The Philharmonic did a spot-on job of capturing the lush sound and soothing melody that represented the innocence of a fairy tale princess.

Also just like a fairy tale, the orchestra turned every single piece of music they touched during the performance into magic, and it is clear they will represent their country with pride for years to come.