A Far Cry, Dumbarton Concerts

Charles T. Downey, A Far Cry closes out Dumbarton Concerts series
Washington Post, April 8, 2013

Piazzolla, J. Vieaux, J. Labro, A Far Cry (2011)

What a chamber orchestra loses by performing without a conductor is some degree of ensemble cohesion, as well as an outside ear to judge balances, phrasing and interpretive choices. What it gains is independence, and that can energize a democratically oriented group. The Boston-based conductor-less chamber orchestra known as A Far Cry, heard on Saturday night to close out the Dumbarton Concerts series in Georgetown, was founded only in 2007, but it has already made quite a mark.

The group played two classics of its repertoire, beginning with Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik,” a charming choice for a concert in a candlelit room. The musicians attacked it with crackling energy, and little details sprouted up everywhere, as here the violas, there the cellos brought out inner lines. [Continue reading]

A Far Cry
Music by Tchaikovsky, Piazzolla, Mozart, Mason Bates
Dumbarton Concerts