Portland, ME -
Jennifer Frautschi brought the house down last night with her featured performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64. Three “curtain calls” and the audience wanted more of her. It was that good.
The Portland Symphony Orchestra’s program said of Frautschi, “Critics have described her performances as ‘electrifying,’ ‘riveting’ and ‘mesmerizing’, lauding her ‘staggering energy and finesse’ and ‘fierce expression.’” Oh yes!
I’ve been blessed to have seen some of the world’s greatest violinists perform over the years from Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, and Joshua Bell to Anne-Sophie Mutter, Pinchas Zuckerman, and Gil Shaham. The emergence of women virtuosi in this domain in recent decades has been staggering and most welcome. Frautschi is one of them.
Watching her from 20 feet away last night, I obviously marveled at her musical and technical mastery and all the art and science they represent. What rushed over me, however, was the realization of her excellence in so many other disciplines.
With every inhale, exhale, and snort, she approached the breath-control discipline of an archer, marksman, swimmer, or biathlete. Her poise, posture, grace, and sinewy movement were that of an actor, model, dancer, or rhythmic gymnast. Frautschi’s dexterity and eye-hand coordination evoked images of a glass-blower, juggler, or table-tennis ace. And her use of eye contact and mouth movement to communicate with PSO conductor Eckart Preu throughout the performance was almost telepathic.
In his book, “Range: Why Generalists Thrive in a Specialized World” (2019), David Epstein writes of the power of interdisciplinary development in superstar athletes. The same can hold true for superstar musicians like Frautschi. They are even better as specialists because they incorporate the value of other disciplines in their performance. In doing so, they are both specialists and generalists.
Image courtesy of Stony Brook.