Forfest - A Second Impression

The opening concert in Kroměříž featured the violin-piano duo of Pavel Burdych and Zuzana Berešová performing in the gilded Assembly Hall of Chateau Kroměříž, one of the main concert venues of the festival. The highly reverberant acoustics of this cavernous Rococo hall can work to advantage for quiet and delicate passage, but to disadvantage for thick, loud textures and fast passages. Burdych and Berešová adjusted their performances to these acoustics for their varied program of works by 20th and 21st century composers that included two world premieres and one Czech premiere, the latter being my Four Short Pieces for solo violin.

Laurence Sherr, National Association of Composers/U.S.A.