Sep 11th, 12th and 13th, 2002 Harmonica virtuoso ROBERT BONFIGLIO, performed along with mezzo-soprano Lucille Beer, the Albany Symphony with David Alan Miller conducting, the world premiere of Richard Einhorn's "The Spires, The City, The Field," a cantata in memory of the victims of September 11th.
........"Einhorn used a collage of phrases from the Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy books to show that all religions stem from the same source. The music is evocative, mystical, mostly tonal and quite beautiful. Mezzo-soprano Lucille Beer sang the words in English with lush rich tones. Bonfiglio's harmonica seemed like a disembodied voice as his lines interwove or punctuated.-The Post-Star
Bonfiglio also performed the Villa-Lobos Harmonica Concerto:
"Bonfiglio is that rarity: He can play spellbinding classical lines with superb technique but also knock the socks off anyone listening with his downhome foot-stomping Delta Blues."
"Bonfiglio delighted the audience with his virtuosic performance of the Villa-Lobos Harmonica Concerto to close the first half. Like the piccolo, the harmonica is a small instrument which has no trouble sounding above a full orchestra. The work show-cased Bonfiglio's virtuosity and musicianship nicely. The spectacular third movement cadenza, full of different tonal effects, sounded like it was meant to be played by a guy sitting by a river or railroad track. Bonfiglio dedicated the first of two bluesy solo encores to an early idol of his Sonnyboy Williamson."- The Daily Gazette
Okay, I like the part about how easy it is to play above a full symphony with NO amplification, Troy Music Hall is nice, but still... I had to blow my brains out.
