“A magical, musical duo"

Colston Newton I Northumberland Echo (Heathsville, VA) I April, 24, 2019­

Belarussian clarinetists and London-born Japanese pianists are not the sorts of musicians usually expected in Northumberland County, but such a pair charmed the audience at the Rappahannock Concert Association’s show in the Northumberland High School auditorium Saturday night. Pianist Misuzu Tanaka and clarinetist Maksim Shtrykov demonstrated how entertaining piano and clarinet duos can be. The pair have made it their goal to turn such concerts from a rare occurrence into popular musical events. Tanaka, who began studying the piano at age five, earned degrees and plaudits in Japan and the United States. Shtrykov first became an acclaimed clarinetist in Belarus and then began winning international competitions. The audience, which was smaller than that of many Rappahannock Concert Association’s shows (probably due to the evening having been on Easter Eve) was generously responsive to the duo’s offerings. Tanaka and Shtrykov performed Franz Danzi’s 1818 sonata in B-flat major for piano and clarinet and moved on to Luigi Bassi’s concert fantasia on motives from “Rigoletto” which include many playful parts. The balance of the two-hour concert included Sergei Rozanov’s piano and clarinet arrangements of what were originally vocal parts followed by the rarely played Sonata No. 1 of Alexander Gretchaninov.

The sonata is rarely played because for unknown reasons it was never published, Shtrykov said. Tanaka and Shtrykov wound up their session with Alexander Rosenblatt’s Carmen Fantasy. Onstage, Rappahannock Concert Association member and classical musician herself Betsey Fountain turned the pages of Tanaka’s sheet music for her. It is unlikely that anybody in the audience left without being surprised at how well a piano and a clarinet can compliment each other. “Everybody I have talked to has found much pleasure in this duo,” RCA President Martha Tallent said.