Let’s face it. The number of classical artists with true mass recognition can be counted on two hands, and firmly established among them is Joshua Bell.
It’s not hard to understand why. The 39-year-old violinist has it all – boyish good looks, supreme talent and that elusive something that can perhaps best be described as charisma.
All those qualities were abundantly on display Wednesday evening when Bell made a special one-night appearance with the Colorado Symphony in Boettcher Concert Hall.
His star power could be felt even before the concert began. Not only was the hall sold out, with extra seats added where possible, the orchestra even sold $75 vouchers just for the chance to take any seats left vacant by absent ticketholders.
Attendees had to wait to the second half for the main attraction, with Bell striding onto the stage adorned, as is his custom, all in black with an untucked shirt open at the neck.
After surveying the musicians and sometimes swaying with the music as the orchestra played the introduction to Johannes Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77, a familiar staple, Bell assertively made his entrance.
In addition to the boundless technique and seeming ease he brings to his playing, he draws a buoyant, unaffected and eminently pleasing tone from his 1713 Stradivarius and imbues his phrasing with an intuitive sense of form and direction.
While he can match any of his peers in terms of sophistication, what sets him apart is the appealing rootedness, naturalness and honesty of his style, which is perhaps related to his Midwestern upbringing.
High points were in abundance, including his spellbinding take on the slow second movement, as he gave voice to its moments of urgency, wonder and contentment, and the delightful brio he brought to the spirited, highly rhythmic finale.
Scott O’Neil, the orchestra’s fine associate conductor, continued the success of his first year in the post with another effective outing. He offered sensitive, sure-footed accompaniment in the concerto and led solid if unremarkable interpretations of the two opening works: Beethoven’s “Leonore Overture” No. 3, Op. 72a, and Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60.
Fine-arts critic Kyle MacMillan can be reached at 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com.
