Skidmore News

Oct 29, 2010

Samanthan Hoffmann

        On Oct. 22 the Albany Symphony Orchestra and actors from the Capital Repertory Theatre treated the college's Arthur Zankel Music Hall to a wonderfully animated performance.

        The main event of the night was the playing of Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music to Shakespeare's play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream." An additional treat to open the concert was the world premiere of three melodramas, also based on scenes from "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

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        Shen Yiwen's composition, "How Happy Some O'er Other Some Can Be!" showed a more symbiotic relationship between music and text. The equal balance allowed the listener to appreciate both elements as well as notice how they worked in conjunction. Shen put ironic twists on excerpts from Mendelssohn's incidental music to emphasize the text's themes.

        Right after the actress playing Helena spoke of her foiled marriage plans with Demetrius, the orchestra played a distorted version of the famed Wedding March, taking the jubilant first few chords and twisting them into hectic unhappiness.

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Woodstock Times

April 29, 2010

Leslie Gerber

      A tip from composer George Tsontakis brought me to Olin Auditorium at Bard College on Wednesday, April 21, at the unlikely hour of 5 p.m. Tsontakis has taught composition to young pianist and composer Shen Yiwen, and in a recital of Shen's music he realized that the young man is also an exceptional pianist. Thanks for the tip, George! You were right.

      It's hard to think of a more demanding program for a pianist than two late Beethoven Sonatas and Tsontakis's massive Ghost Variations. Yet Shen was completely up to the task. Unlike some composers whose playing is insightful but otherwise just functional, Shen is an excellent performer. His tonal quality was exceptionally beautiful, and he played the music with complete command of its technique and emotional content. His contrasts in the Prestissimo of the Sonata No. 30, Op.109, were appropriately wild, and the beautiful final movement ended in ecstasy. Without pause he then launched into the Sonata No.32, Op.111, which he played with extraordinary poise and dynamics. The Ghost Variations is extremely demanding of a pianist's technique and comprehension. I know it only through Stephen Hough's recording (not a bad way to get to know any piano music!) Shen's performance seemed completely confident and assured, and he made the piece sound extremely colorful.