THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702070109
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Craig Shapiro
LENGTH: 101 lines
ATHLETES HONE THEIR skills all the time in Hampton Roads before stepping up to the bigs. Think of all the New York Mets who once wore a Tides uniform. Ex-Admirals goalie Patrick Lalime now minds the net for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Virginia Symphony is no different. At the end of this season, principal bassoonist Dan Matsukawa moves to Washington, D.C., to take the same chair with the National Symphony. It's a double loss for local audiences; his wife, Hiroko, is one of the orchestra's fine violinists.
Matsukawa and nearly 100 other candidates auditioned in preliminary and semifinal rounds Jan. 6. Four finalists, including the NSO's assistant principal and second bassoonists, played the next day for new music director Leonard Slatkin and an 11-member selection panel.
``Every month, a musician's paper posts new positions,'' said Matsukawa, 28. ``I'm kind of the picky type, because I prefer to play principal. Not that I have anything against second bassoon, but as a principal player, I get to sing out a lot and play solos, although all wind players are known to be solo players because they have individual parts.
``In the past, there have been a lot of second bassoon openings in major orchestras. My friends said I was crazy to wait. But I'd rather play principal in a second-tier orchestra than second in one of the top 10. I wouldn't trade this (the Virginia Symphony) for the world. . . . I grew a lot.''
Born in New York City, Matsukawa studied at Juilliard and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia before joining the Memphis Symphony. He came to Norfolk in 1993, left in 1994-95 to play with the St. Louis Symphony - at the time under the baton of Slatkin - then returned to Hampton Roads.
He learned of the NSO opening in September. Principal bassoonist Ken Pasmanick is retiring after 50 years.
``We played 45 to 50 minutes each in the finals,'' Matsukawa said. ``When they invite you, they send out a repertoire list of 30 pieces to prepare. Then you get a list of what to play in the preliminaries, semifinals and finals.''
Accompanied by a pianist, he began the finals with Mozart's Concerto for Bassoon in B Flat Major, then played excerpts from 17 pieces, including Stravinsky's ``Rite of Spring'' and symphonies by Tchaikovsky and Mahler. He had to sight-read the final piece, a Mozart octet, in which he was joined by other NSO wind players.
When Matsukawa takes over in September, he'll get off to a quick start. The orchestra is playing all nine Beethoven symphonies the first three weeks of the season before leaving on a tour of Europe. The Kennedy Center is undergoing a 10-month renovation, so its gala reopening is down the road.
``I would love to play Shostakovich's Symphony No. 9. One movement alone is a big bassoon solo,'' he said. ``The National is an exciting place to be. A lot of people say Slatkin did wonders for St. Louis over the last decade. It grew incredibly, and (the feeling is) he'll do the same in Washington. It's already prestigious, but it's going to be our national orchestra, so to speak.''
Should Slatkin steer the NSO into the orchestral elite, it won't be the first time Matsukawa has witnessed such a transition. He will leave Norfolk with fond memories of working with Virginia Symphony Music Director JoAnn Falletta.
``She's not just a world-class conductor,'' said Matsukawa, who also plays with Virginia Opera, ``she's a human being. She's very inspiring to play under. Concerts with her are very emotional for me.
``I think this orchestra is very rare. It's really a super group, like a family. There's no bad blood, no back-stabbing. What other orchestra plays softball and touch football every Saturday morning?
``It's also a beautiful part of the country. The good thing is it's right around the corner, so we can come back and visit.''
Beach bash
Sir Richard's, the legendary Atlantic Avenue nightspot that hosted Natalie Cole, the Classics IV, the Platters and many, many others in the '70s and '80s, is history, but some of the folks who made it happen are holding a black-tie reunion Saturday at the Upper Deck Restaurant, 16th Street and Atlantic Avenue. Performing will be the TFC Band (a Richard's regular); prime rib tops the menu. 7 p.m. Cost: $99 per couple. Call: 422-5654.
Hear, hear
The New European Strings Chamber Orchestra has come a long way since 1990, when the noted Russian violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky (son of pianist Bella Davidovich) recruited 20 strings players from 10 countries for the ensemble.
In fact, all the way to the Pacific Northwest. In 1994, NESCO was named orchestra-in-residence at the Seattle International Music Festival. There have been tours of Europe, too. Now, the orchestra is on its debut tour of America. Wednesday's program at Hampton University's Ogden Hall includes Sitkovetsky's acclaimed transcription of Bach's Goldberg Variations and Tchaikovsky's ``Souvenir de Florence.''
8 p.m. Tickets: $10-$17.50; order at (757) 722-ARTS. Part of the Hampton Arts Commission's Great Performers Series.
Go Greek for Valentine's Day. The Tidewater Classical Guitar Society is sponsoring a peformance by Eleftheria Kotzia at 8 p.m. Friday at The Chrysler Museum of Art theater.
A native of Greece, Kotzia studied at the National Conservatory in Athens, Paris' Conservatoire National Superieure, the Guildhall School of Music in London and with early-music kingpin Julian Bream. Besides the music of her homeland, her programs take in Vivaldi, Bartok and Schubert.
Tickets: $12; $8 students and seniors. Call 627-6229. A reception follows the concert. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Virginia Symphony principal bassoonist Dan Matsukawa will join the
National Symphony.