Reviews

reviews & press

“Forget convention. Soprano Susanna Phillips can do whatever she wants. If she wants to sing with viola in addition to piano, that’s her prerogative. Besides, as her recital Tuesday at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights made beautifully clear, the combination makes perfect sense. Performing with violist Paul Neubauer, Phillips made the two seem destined for each other, and set a precedent for others to follow. But it wasn’t just the lineup, which included the remarkable pianist Anne-Marie McDermott, that made the evening so special. Also unique was the repertoire itself, a fetching blend of art and parlor songs from all over 19th- and 20th-century Europe. Phillips herself required zero assistance. A singer known for starring roles at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, she proved a singular authority, brandishing a golden, powerful instrument and treating each song to generous servings of eloquence and feeling. But how much better to hear Phillips in tandem with Neubauer, a former principal violist of the New York Philharmonic, and witness the gorgeous dovetailing of the viola’s warm, expressive tone with that of the human voice, its closest musical relation. At times, the two were almost indistinguishable. Throughout, Phillips and her colleagues displayed flawless sensitivity. Phillips had listeners in the palm of her hand throughout. One song in particular, however, Gaetano Braga’s “Angel’s Serenade,” was especially mesmerizing and apt to the occasion. In a scene depicting a young girl hearing otherworldly sounds, the soprano described what the audience itself was essentially experiencing: music not of mortal nature.”

The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

“Ever been to a chamber concert that began with a performer whistling “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary”? Well, neither had I until violist Paul Neubauer, pianist Anne-Marie McDermott and soprano Susanna Phillips strode onstage Sunday evening at the University of Richmond’s Camp Concert Hall. Neubauer, with a smile, pursed his lips and launched into that popular World War I tune. It set the tone perfectly for a lighthearted and charming, yet often dramatic, evening of world-class music making. The program was titled “Songs for Soprano,” but it was really a performance that showcased the talents of all three of these fine musicians. Although they’re all highly acclaimed solo performers who’ve appeared on stages throughout the world, they’ve also performed this repertoire of salon-style songs together on numerous occasions — and it showed in their refined sense of ensemble and unity of artistic vision. Phillips exhibited a strong yet flexible and warm lyric soprano, Neubauer showed expressive and effortless obbligato playing, and McDermott demonstrated the ultimate accompanist’s sensibility in controlling her dynamics, never overpowering the others even with the lid of the Steinway grand fully open. A particular high spot in the first half was McDermott’s and Neubauer’s rendition of Robert Schumann’s “Märchenbilder” (“Pictures from a Fairy Land”) for piano and viola. Although ostensibly written to be performed by amateurs at home, this four-movement piece, sometimes sonorously sad, sometimes frenetic and extroverted, is technically formidable. It takes players of the caliber of McDermott and Neubauer to bring it off, which they did masterfully. The evening highlight was “Widmung” (“Dedication”) for voice and piano by Robert Schumann, coupled with Franz Liszt’s transcription of the same piece for solo piano. Phillip’s passionate rendering of the text by Friederich Rückert was splendid, and McDermott had her own shining moment as her stunning virtuosity exploded in the all-too-brief Liszt transcription.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch

“Like a generously filled éclair or a well frothed cappuccino, this was a conglomeration of tidbits and unusual arrangements put together in a salon concert style to entice and delight. Violist Paul Neubauer began with a knowing smile as he whistled the first few notes of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.” Neubauer then began a little gigue of an obbligato reminiscent of the piccolo solo in “Stars and Stripes.” Soprano Susanna Phillips began the first verse as he continued his gigue, and when the second verse came around he surprised us all by singing it himself in his throaty bari-tenor. This little ditty was followed by a beautiful lullaby, “Sing me to Sleep” of Edwin Greene. Neubauer’s sound was sexy and beckoning; it would be Heaven just to have him lullaby one to sleep every evening. From the beginning, he established himself as a big personality, even in this understated opening. His lines were long, drawn and hushed, spinning a beautiful sound for Phillips to sing with. Her instrument is luminescent and feminine, and she crooned in the same drawn-out long lines as the viola. She emoted certain sounds and colors that showed she was truly a part of this music. Braga’s “Angel’s Serenade” was the most enjoyable of this set; in a rather low key, with her warm mezzo-like low notes coming as a pleasant surprise. McDermott showed all afternoon that she was capable of suspending the longest line in order to slip gracefully along the musical intentions of her partners while creating a color for each artist to paint on top of. This was most evident in the famous Bach/Gounod “Ave Maria” where Neubauer’s line was flawless. I felt the true diva moment was McDermott’s brilliant playing of the Liszt transcription. Through her fluid technique and flowing musicianship, the piece literally spilled out of the uncovered 9-foot Steinway.”

The Boston Musical Intelligencer

“The concert opened with Harry Williams’s World War I hit “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.” Mr. Neubauer not only played a spritely countermelody, he also got to sing a verse or two. Edwin Greene’s touching lullaby/waltz “Sing Me to Sleep” of 1902 was made famous by early recording stars soprano Alma Gluck and her husband, violinist Efrem Zimbalist. The third song of the opening set was another WWI favorite, “Roses of Picardy.” There might have been high camp possibilities with these songs, but Ms. Phillips and her collaborators took them at face value and performed them with sincerity. Ms. Phillips has a clear lyric soprano voice, even from the bottom to the top of her range, but with plenty of sound that filled the church (and likely the vast spaces of the Metropolitan Opera house.) Robert Schumann’s Märchenbilder (Fairy Tale Pictures), op. 113, for viola and piano, followed. These pieces are not trifles, however, and Mr. Neubauer and Ms. McDermott gave them sensitive readings, emphasizing the interplay between the viola and piano. This was collaborative music-making at its best. Ms. Phillips returned for four Russian songs by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Anton Arensky. Rachmaninoff’s “Ne poy, krasavitsa, pri mne” was intense and dramatic, and showed Ms. Phillips’s skill at floating soft high notes. Schumann’s song “Widmung” (“Dedication”) was followed by Franz Liszt’s solo piano transcription of the song. Ms. McDermott’s intense performance had just the right combination of virtuosity and sensitivity to the original song.”
ClevelandClassical.com