Amit Peled and pianist Daniel Del Pino celebrated Jewish musical tradition in virtuoso performance

By Lucie K. Scheuer for Ashland.news

There is something about the cello. All instruments have a way of moving sounds waves in such a manner that they can change, calm, excite, move us, or even make us dance. The cello, it is different. It meanders and curls up like a cat in our souls.

Sarah Mnatzaganian, a British cello purveyor and poet, in 2011 wrote, “Many believe that people are drawn to the cello, because its range is so similar to that of the human voice (from bass to soprano, male to female). Steven Isserlis calls the cello “Everyone’s favorite instrument” and believes that “the cello’s dark, wistful timbre, touches the heart more than any other instrument.”

Those facts played out at a very special concert on Sunday, Feb. 2^, when Anima Mundi Productions presented internationally acclaimed Israeli cellist Amit Peled and leading Spanish concert pianist, Daniel Del Pino, in a memorable concert celebrating Jewish musical tradition presented through the Oregon Center for the Arts in the Southern Oregon University Music Recital Hall.

The audience was riveted. At the conclusion of the performance, it rose to its feet, calling out bravos and applauding with vigor.

This was a noteworthy production for two reasons. In these dark times it helps us remember our humanity and, second, because Anima Mundi has worked diligently to bring some of the world’s most accomplished musical and performance artists to Ashland.

The program opened with “Eli, Eli” by David Zehavi, based on a traditional Jewish song. It is sung at many Jewish services and is transformed by the cello and piano, one moving in sync with  the other. The song is based on a poem by Hannah Szenes, a heroic Hungarian Jewish poet and one of 27 paratroopers who parachuted into Yugoslavia during the World War II. The poem, along with the piece, is quite stirring: “O Lord, my God/I pray that these things never end/the sand and the sea/the rush of the waters/the crash of the heavens/the prayer of the earth/… Although the words are absent in this piece, the sentiment, the reverence for life are truly present.”

The second piece was Suite No. 1 by J.S. Bach, with a very familiar prelude, characterized by a probing melody that rises and falls, cascading at its climax, like a waterfall, into sheer musical bliss. Peled has just the precise bowing technique to take us there.

But it is not surprising — he becomes so familiar with his instruments he doesn’t hesitate to name them. He toured with Pablo Casals’ cello “Pablo” about 10 years ago. The exquisite 1780s  Storioni Peled plays for this concert has been dubbed “La Rossa Caliente” by Anima Mundi co-founder Tiziana DellaRovere after Peled says playing this cello is like having a relationship with a “passionate, fiery, red-headed woman.”

Peled also views pianist Daniel Del Pino as a brother. He says the two were born around the same time on opposite borders, he in Israel, Del Pino in Beirut. They met at Yale University as students. The two then proceeded to play three pieces “From Jewish Life,” by Ernest Bloch —first his “Supplication,” followed by “Jewish Song” and “Prayer.” Ernest Bloch was a Swiss-born composer who lived for a time on the Oregon coast in Newport. Several of his compositions, including “From Jewish Life,” are synonymous with the look and feel of his Jewish heritage.

Then came the movie-themed masterpiece by John Williams “Schindler’s List.” It is hard to believe so much beauty could be contained in just one brief composition. Peled transforms the familiar into tear drops. It is followed by Max Bruch’s solemn-stepping, emotionally moving “Kol Nidrei,” completing the first half.

After intermission, Daniel Del Pino’s artistry with the piano is highlighted, along with Peled on cello with Edvard Grieg’s eloquent Sonata for Cello and Piano.

In December Anima Mundi will present Palestinian-Jordanian-Canadian vocalist and composer Shireen Abu-Khader.

Ethan Gans-Morse and his team at Anima Mundi, continue to push for their own kind of peace initiatives – through the arts and splendorous music.

Ashland resident Lucie K. Scheuer is a former copy editor and staff writer with the Los Angeles Times, where her work included features, reviews and a column on films in production. Email her at LucieScheuer19@gmail.com.

Related story: World-famous cellist gives 4-hour master class at Ashland High School