Horne Adds Polished Voice to Tribute

Few people in this past century have done more for the collaborative art of recital accompaniment than did Gwendolyn Koldofsky, who died late last year at age 92. USC paid tribute Sunday afternoon to its longtime faculty member with a varied recital program in Bovard Auditorium, featuring former Koldofsky students, including revered diva Marilyn Horne.

In what was announced as the only local performance on her farewell tour, the legendary mezzo-soprano sang Falla’s Seven Popular Spanish Songs with great fire and lyric point. The exuberant and dramatic songs were genuinely exciting for all the right reasons, and the softly hovering “Asturiana,” limpid and chill in its beautifully sustained sorrow, will linger longest in memories of the event.

Much of the bloom is off Horne’s voice now, of course, but the remarkable combination of heft and flexibility for which she is known remains. She demonstrated that with pertinent taste and intelligence in Brahms’ Two Songs for Alto, Viola and Piano.

Probably the prime example today of the utterly focused and fearlessly interactive collaboration that Koldofsky espoused is the playing of pianist Martin Katz, Horne’s accompanist of choice for the last 30 years. He brought out all the tangy character of the Falla miniatures and his long, limber lines held the Brahms together with commanding purpose.

The mellifluous violist of the Brahms was USC faculty member Donald McInnes. He also contributed an eloquent set of French songs in transcription, Debussy’s “Beau Soir” and four by Faure, accompanied with color and grace by pianist Jean Barr.

Opening the program--after three institutional speeches--was soprano Ruth Golden with a group of five English songs, from the familiar comforts of Vaughan Williams’ “Linden Lea” to the extrovert passions of Roger Quilter’s “Love’s Philosophy.” She brought a big, gleaming voice and generous emotion but not much textual clarity to the set, supported by Katz with his usual stylish aplomb.