OK, my wife likes this guy a lot. Never cared for him much. She has a couple of CDs ... new, pan-flute arrangements of 'modern' songs just don't appeal to me. Yah, he's good, and 'The Lonely Sheppard' is a powerful (if overdone) song, but how many times can one hear it?
So when two tickets to see him dropped in my lap, I bit the bullet and took 'mi linda esposa'.
....
OK, perhaps this should be posted in the posting of 'who are we ashamed to like', because my respect for the man just jumped ten fold.
Wow.
a two and a half hour show (with 15 min. intermission). The first half was all classical. And was very, very impressive. Zamfir was accompanied by a vertuoso string quartet from Romania who were tighter than a drum. Excellent. And to start the played all of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" ... with Zamfir playing the lead violin parts with his pan-flute!
"C'mon, Usivius," you might say, "The violin parts of that piece are rediculously fast and difficult that even Nigel Kennedy breaks a sweat." Yah, and so did Zamfir.
...amazing...
The other numbers in the first half were from Mozart and Paganini. (I can't think of any more appropriate awe-inspring adjectives)
Second half started with some traditional stuff, Danny Boy, Ave Maria, Yesterday, Lonely Sheppard, etc... What impressed me with these (normally boring songs for me) were the composition chosen for them, especially utilizing the quintet, who were inventive and inspiring. Danny Boy was a marvel to listen to with the quintet playing counter point backings in a very playful tempo. I usually associate that song with sadness or melancholy, but it was done with a spirit I had never heard before.
In the middle of the second half was a piece witten by Zamfir (his glasses came off at this point --- he doesn't need to read music he wrote, I guess...
) This 5 min. piece was of such power and longing, I felt that lump in my throat (I hate when artists I misjudge can do that to me... grrrr). I was in awe of the utter longing and spiritual power this song had that I had to come to my feet once it was over.The last three pieces were (traditional?) Romanian dance numbers. Very lively and fun. Just to watch his head zoom across his pan-flute is like watching a bouncing ball on crack ... he brought the house down.
OK, now if all this seems a bit much, I can only explain it as being a result of total shock. I had no idea Zamfir could PLAY! So, my over-gushing of the man may be a result of that, and the fact that he, and his quintet, had some serious chops and played some great music that I could enjoy.
I won't advice anyone to get his CDs, as it seems to water-down his power, but will advice anyone into classical music to go see him live! Really!
