Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 21

Chicago Tribune, Monday, September 28, 1987 Section 2 5 Overnight Chicago Japanese pianist's light touch casts a spell Cellist paints a gilded edge on works in Orchestra Hall rex TV pectations. Uchida did not disappoint. She offered the familiar Rondo in A minor (K.511), sandwiching it between an early sonata (G Major, K.283) and Mozart's final sonata (D Major, K.576). Most pianists tend to romanticize the Rondo, weighing it down with all sorts of spurious, "profound" emotion. Uchida's Olympian restraint, combined with her limpid sense of texture, seemed very much in keeping with the resigned grief of this music.

The two sonatas were equally fine: firmly poised of line, pointed of rhythm, subtly varied in tonal shading. In K.283 Uchida found an ideal balance between the melodic invention of the left-hand part and the right-hand accompaniment, and her clarity of voicing made the contrapuntal densities of K.576 seem anything but dry or academic. The pianist's pairing of works by two of the early 20th Century's most influential musicians, Schoen-berg and Debussy, yielded dividends of another, more esoteric sort. To Schoenberg's Three Pieces, Op. 1 1 she brought an acute sensitivity of touch that threw meaningful light on the strange shadow-world separating late-Romantic tonality and Schoenberg's later 12-tone explorations.

Debussy's Etudes (Book II) tend to rate higher marks with pianists (who value their pedagogical value) than audiences (who often fail to appreciate their musical value). But UClllUa SUVVWWWV malting a commanding impression, partly be- enough to overcome every difficulty, partly because her grasp of lAMUl, lluauvi OJ1U liiv. mil. -apuu UU" icacy of Debussy's figurations is so complete. J.

Patrick Raftery is the second of two baritones recruited by Lyric Opera to fill the gap created by Piero Cappuccilli's temporary defection from the cast of Verdi's "II Trovatore." (Cappuccilli is due to sing the final four performances beginning this Saturday.) But Raftery's first Count di Luna for the Lyric laI Saturday had neither the vocal amplitude nor weight to anchor an otherwise acceptable portrayal. Alongside the singing of Verdi veterans Anna Tomowa-Sintow (in even finer voice than on opening night) and Shirley Verrett (evidently having an off-night), Raftery appeared to be straining middling resources to fill a prescribed dramatic mold. He launched into "II balen" with evident bravado, unfortunately resorting to pushed-up chest voice that doubtless accounted for a buzzy, unsteady tonal emission and pitcn promems at tne top ot the. range. In a relatively small theater of 1,500 to 2,000 seats, Raftery's Luna might register to solid effect.

But in a auditorium like the uvic upera Mouse tne young ban-tone was overparted. Bruno Bar-' toletti again was the conductor. The jewel of the recital was Ma's treatment of Hindemith's Sonata for Solo Cello (Op. 25, No. 3).

Though this dissonant, rhythmically agitated piece is not easy to bring across to a conservative audience, Ma clearly did so by drawing vivid contrasts among the five brief movements. One will long remember the arched lyric phrases he crafted in the Adagio movement. Unfortunately, in the program's remaining works by Beethoven and Brahms, even a cellist of Ma's accomplishment cannot sustain interest by himself. This music requires a piano accompanist with, something urgent to say and the wherewithal to say it (such as Emanuel Ax, who frequently collaborates with Ma). In Beethoven's Cello Sonata No.

5 in Major (Op. 102, No. 2) and Brahms' Violin Sonata No. 3 in minor (Op. 108, transcribed for cello by Ma), the cellist enjoyed only minimal support from Zander.

The pianist's generally hollow, anemic tone left Ma's side of the discourse seem unanswered. Still, Ma's performance was charged with energy, and his tone in the second movement was radiant. Under better circumstances, this would have been an extraordinary reading. One of the distinct pleasures of music in Chicago is the Early Music from the Newberry Library Yo-Yo Ma series, which opened its season Saturday evening. The program's fascinating theme was "Transformation Music" in other words, Elizabethan songs on magic, alchemy, love and other forms of transformation.

The performances, under the direction of Newberry musician-in-residence Mary Springfels, were stylistically impeccable, yet never dry or lacking in sentiment. Tenor Paul Elliott employed crisp diction, a natural sense of phrase and considerable skill at vocal shading in music by John Dowland, Thomas Campion and others. The able instrumentalists were Springfels, Jack Ashworth, Elaine Scott Banks (director of the City. Musick ensemble), Wendy Gillespie and Kevin Mason. A 6 "Tl By John von Rhein Music critic After Mitsuko Uchida's remarkable Chicago Symphony debut two seasons ago, it was inconceivable that some canny impresario would not bring the young Japanese pianist back to the city for a recital appearance.

And that, indeed, is what happened Sunday at the Auditorium Theatre, where Uchida gave her first Chicago recital, under auspices of Sarah Zelzer. By any yardstick this was distinguished pianism. Uchida is the kind of pianist for whom the designation "feminine" seems exactly right one who commands a refined and purling sound invested with all manner of delicate half-tints and a supple sense of phrasing that lets the piano sing naturally and gracefully. As a matter of fact, some members of Uchida's audience might have been tempted simply to bask in the beautiful sounds she produced rather than paying attention to what she had to say musically, which was considerable. Uchida's program was anything but typical debut fare it bypassed entirely the standard 19th Century virtuoso items while giving generous attention to the composer, Mozart, with whom American record buyers most closely associate her.

The pianist's Philips cycle of the complete Mozart piano sonatas has yielded some particularly fine discs, so one approached her three Mozart selections with the highest ex 0 ME 11 A 11 Mil 8 4 5 7 4 4 onto overai bosiiiiiess tapo XL By Howard Reich The excellent cellist Yo-Yo Ma seems to perpetually refine and refresh his art, as he proved throughout a remarkable performance Sunday afternoon in Orchestra Hall. In fact, had it not been for the limited range of Ma's piano accompanist, Patricia Zander, this could have been as dynamic and moving a recital as one might hope to hear. Certainly the cellist, who had postponed a May 21 recital to this date, was in particularly fine form. His tone was robust as ever, his emphasis, as always, an expression over technique. If in previous years Ma had displayed a slight tendency to over-indulge his warmth of feeling, this time emotion and restraint were in better balance.

The result was consistently effective and spontaneous playing, regardless of the repertoire. Early-music purists might wince at Ma's account of J.S. Bach's. Sonata No. 2 in Major for viola de gamba and harpsichord (BWV 1028), for it was unabashedly 20th Century in conception.

But for those of us who have no difficulty listening to this music played on the cello with full tone and ample vibrato (and accompanied at a grand piano), Ma's reading was unassailable. It had depth of thought, clarity of structure and an appealing variety of color and attack. Metropolitan report State goes to court against travel firm The Illinois attorney general's office will go to Cook County Circuit Court on Monday in an effort to protect customers of a North Side travel Jeanne Marie Schultz, spokeswoman for Atty. Gen. Neil Hartigan, said the office had received 18 complaints about Carefree Vacations 620 W.

Belmont over the last four weeks. Schultz said the purpose of going to court was to make sure that the consumers are protected; even if they go into bankruptcy, a judge can consider ordering the firm to pay restitution." Attempts to reach Carefree representatives Sunday were unsuccessful. Taxi driver called justified in killing Authorities ruled Sunday that the fatal shooting of a 27-year-old Roseland man by a taxi driver whom he was trying to rob was justifiable. Stanley Clinton, of 722 E. 105th was shot to death Saturday morning during a struggle with the cabbie, Manases Rivera, 47, police said.

Detective NickGau-dio of the Grand-Central Area said I Clinton pulled a gun on Rivera in the 400 block of South Leamington Avenue and announced a holdup. "The two struggled for control of the gun, and it discharged once, hitting the driver, who then took the gun and shot Clinton three times in the chest," Gaudio Said. Clinton was pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center, May-wood. Villa Park to hold meeting on flooding A meeting at which Villa Park residents can ask village officials about flooding and sewer backup problems caused by last month's record rains has been scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday by the local public works department.

Staff members and engineers will answer questions and discuss the sewcr-and storm-water treatment plant projects that are under construction. The meeting will be held at Wildwood Community Recreational Center, on Wildwood Street, a block west of Villa Avenue. Pilsen man killed in fall from window A 22-ycar-oId Pilsen man died Sunday when he fell from a 4th-floor window sill where he was sitting while drinking, police said. Jose Delgado fell from the window of a building at 1129 W. 18th St.

to the alley below about 3 a.m., police said. $4 million winner in Lotto drawing une player matched the six numbers drawn in the weekend Lotto drawing, winning the $4 million jackpot, Illinois State Lottery officials announced Sunday. The winner, who has not been identified, will receive 20 annual payments of $200,000. Saturday night's Lotto drawing also produced 349 players who correctly matched five of the six numbers to receive second prizes of $2,049 each. Third prizes of $60 will be awarded to the 17,784 players.

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