Gerald Finley Astounds at Alice Tully Hall

 Gerald Finley is one of the most sought after recitalists in the world because of his diction, colors and overall musicality.  After attending tonight's recital with Gerald Finkey, bass-baritone, and Julius Drake, piano I was inspired.  These two artists are quite the dynamic duo, not only because of their technique, but because of their artistry.  It was interesting to hear another setting of Goethe's poem Erlkonig, set by Carl Loewe in addition to the famous setting by Schubert.  Loewe was a professional singer, and nicknamed the Schubert of Northern Germany according to Kenneth Lafave. Schubert was a tenor himself interestingly so. The Schubert set was a series of gems.  To perform a difficult set ending with Schubert's setting of Erlkonig is not an easy task.  However, the performers made it seem easy,  Finley's performance of "Der Zwerg" was the best I have heard to date.  What a dynamic range, and what control from both artists.   The second half of the program featured songs in English, whereas, the first half was all German.  I was hoping the performers would do some Ravel, but alas, I can't have everything. The beginning of the second half featured a set called "Look down fair moon" by Huw Watkins.  I thought that the performers were doing War Scenes by Ned Rorem when I first saw that, but instead they did a North American premiere of this work. I was moved that the title is a poem by Walt Whitman.  Finley and Drake again made a very difficult set seem easy.  The range is from a low F to a high G.  The set was very interesting, and very difficult.  The Britten folk song arrangments were a joy to listen to, and The Tale of the Oyster by Cole Porter was a delightful encore. I really like the arrangments of "Greensleeves" and "I Wonder as I wander", which both artists performed so beautifully.  What makes Gerald Finley and Julius Drake special is that performing means something to them, so they are a pleasure to watch.  They are two of the greatest classical performers today.  Finley takes risks when he performs, which takes a lot of courage, and certainly pays off for him.