MUSIC REVIEW : Double-Duty Soloist With the Camerata

As ordinary as the programming looked, it would not be a routine evening with the Mozart Camerata at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on Saturday night.

Two familiar Mozart concertos were listed on the program, one for piano (No. 23 in A, K. 488) and one for violin (No. 4 in D, K. 218). But the soloist for each would be the same person. And an 18-year-old at that.

Thus, we beheld the unfolding phenomenon of Corey Cerovsek, a Wunderkind from Vancouver, B.C., who dares to champion both the piano and the violin. Indeed, one thoroughly awed member of the audience was overheard to say, “It makes you want to go home and yell at the kids.”

One would be hard-pressed to state a preference between Cerovsek the pianist and Cerovsek the violinist, both of whom appeared with the Camerata a little more than a year ago.

As a pianist, Cerovsek preferred a direct, clear-textured, unmannered approach to the Concerto No. 23, save a somewhat Romantic-flavored way with the first-movement cadenza. As a violinist, Cerovsek produced a bright, sweet tone, some impressively hushed pianissimos and--despite a bit of rushing at the start--a poised and graceful approach emerged by the time the Rondo came around.

Without a doubt, Cerovsek has a sure technical grasp of both instruments, hitting all of the notes (albeit a handful of out-of-tune ones on the violin). What we don’t hear yet is an individual conception. We may have to wait until the next century for that story to unfold.

Still, that Cerovsek could calmly pull off both tasks in one evening deserves praise. Two separate professional players would have been satisfied with such performances.

Ami Porat, who continues to lead an impeccably smooth ensemble, accompanied Cerovsek with straightforward warmth and affection. Later on, in Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony, the Mozart Camerata was permitted to shine on its own, displaying firm, steady, effectively spotlighted winds and an elegant, always-cohesive string section.

The only problem here was the business-as-usual nature of the performance itself--with tempos right down the middle of the road, few interesting details and, at most, mild vehemence. More could have been done to explore the possibilities of this piece, and Porat clearly has the polished vehicle in which to do so.