The full TMC Orchestra was back for Symphony in Three Movements, in which textures were much denser and rhythms more varied. One passage is highly reminiscent of the pounding strings in the composer’s Le sacre du printemps; another is a military march. Slobodeniouk’s gestures and body movements were correspondingly broader and more flexible than in the previous work. The orchestra once again responded with excellent playing. Highlights included: a dialogue between Joseph Vasconi’s piano and Ryan Clever’s flute in the first movement; the interplay between woodwinds and bouncy strings in the Andante middle movement; and excellent solos from McCarty’s contrabassoon, Vasconi’s piano and Gracie Potter’s trombone in the finale, in which Slobodeniouk all but broke into dance on the podium.
— David M. Rice, August 14, 2024
Morales was joined by soprano Rachel Doehring Jackson, tenor Nathaniel Bear and baritone John Arlievsky for a glorious a cappella performance of Tomás Luis de Victoria’s four-part motet, ‘O magnum mysterium’. Jackson and Vasconi then collaborated marvelously on three songs by Joaquin Rodrigo. The first two — ‘¿Con qué la lavaré?’ and ‘Romancillo’ — were tinged with regrets, while the text of the third, ‘Pastorcito santo’ (Holy Little Shepherd), a poem by the Spanish Golden Age writer Lope de Vega, was somewhat more upbeat. Jackson’s lustrous soprano voice along with her evident warmth and charm brought these songs vividly to life.
— David M. Rice, August 14, 2024
The performers entered together and took seats facing the piano from either side of the stage, stepping forward at their respective turns to perform. Mezzo-soprano Madelin Morales led off the evening with a moving a cappella rendition of a traditional Sephardic melody ‘La guirnalda de rosas’ (The wreath of roses), followed by an early twentieth century setting by Alberto Hemsi of another traditional text and a lovely Sephardic-influenced song by contemporary composer Ofer Ben-Amots, ‘Yo kon amor’ (I, in Love). In the latter two songs, Joseph Vasconi’s playing of the extensive piano solo passages was outstanding.
— David M. Rice, August 14, 2024
A chamber orchestra followed in Fly by Wire by Tyondai Braxton … Braxton clearly took inspiration from the Bang on a Can composers like Michael Gordon with this chamber orchestra, echoes of Gordon’s Yo, Shakespeare! In its use of offset and irregular rhythmic layers, shifting the emphasis of the perceptual downbeat from one macrobeat to another. Motoric yet reserved in its aggressiveness, its eight minutes flew by. [Joseph Vasconi’s and Amber Ginmi Scherer’s] synthesizers and [Pierre Bibault’s] guitar effectively heightened the minimalist connection, imitating groups like The Philip Glass Ensemble … Turner had her work cut out for her, as she had to navigate an ever-shifting sense of downbeat, a challenge she met as though it were super easy.
— Ian Wiese, July 29, 2024
Mackey described the origins of his piano piece Sneaky March. He performed a short improvisation while holding his then-infant son Jasper in his arm, leading to the foundational chord of the miniature. Mackey then completed it for a children’s concert lead by pianist Orli Shaham. The march, clocking in at two minutes, definitely fit the target audience of children. Not extremely complicated in its construction but entertaining this little thin, in the hands of Joseph Vasconi, made a cheeky concert opener.
— Ian Wiese, July 27, 2024
“In solo pianist Joseph Vasconi’s hands, Messiaen’s Catalogue d’oiseaux, No. 3: “Le Merle Bleu,” raised the decibel ante as he depicted the composer’s vision … Vasconi took flight in swoops and fluttering arcs as he evoked the danger of the cliffs, calls of the birds, and the even the odors of the shore. After the Blue Rock Thrush expired, the crowd erupted in the most vociferous tribute of the night.”
— Lee Eiseman, April 11, 2024
“David Fulmer’s Only in darkness is thy shadow clear, the most recent work on offer, and a Tanglewood/Callithumpian Consort co-commission, showed a gestural and composite-chord side to this type of microtonal composition. Duo-pianists Joseph Vasconi and Kexin Tian had to synchronize with each other due to the relative lack of consistent pulse. They did excellently at that, as we heard minimal tearing between the two parts; they let the instruments growl in their lower registers until they shone in the upper.”
— Ian Wiese, March 31, 2024
“More convincing was the night’s account of Ligeti’s Chamber Concerto… [The] thirteen players offered a reading that was warm and fluent… the squawking attacks at the climax of the third movement were thrillingly on-point, as were the finale’s wild piano and double-bass solos.
— Jonathan Blumhofer, November 14, 2023
“Ligeti’s folkish songs Négy lakodalmi tanc introduced the composer’s happier, Romanian side. With Lorelei’s prompting and Joseph Vasconi’s robust piano accompaniment the feel of a village scene came about.”
— David Patterson, November 13, 2023
“Joseph Vasconi played [Andile Khumalo’s Schau-fe[r]n-ster II] with adroit facility and a depth of understanding that belied his student status at Tanglewood.”
— Christian Carey, August 8, 2023
“The “extra” work on the program was Bartók’s Contrasts for violin, clarinet, and piano … The performers—Marissa Weston, violin; Alisha Zamore, clarinet; and Joseph Vasconi, piano—gave it a vivid, tasty reading.”
— Steven Ledbetter, August 6, 2023
“[Amy Beach] Dreaming, Op. 15, No. 3 (1892), an intimate nocturne-like work interpreted with sensitivity and a vibrant dynamic palette by Joseph Vasconi”
— Roberto Poli, February 25, 2022