Reviews

OFFERING ITS first concert of the new year, the Monterey Symphony presents a solo performance by concertmaster and violinist Christina Mok Friday at 4 p.m. (PST).

Recorded last week at Sunset Center, the concert will be streamed online, and you can watch it for free. "Christina is a phenomenal violinist," symphony executive director Nicola Reilly told The Pine Cone. "She has an unbelievable tone and touch with her instrument, and her intonation is just flawless."

Instead of placing his camera in the auditorium, filmmaker Doug Mueller shows Mok from behind the stage, which makes it possible to see that she's playing in an empty auditorium — a nod to the many empty venues that have stayed closed during the pandemic. Mueller's work was complemented by that of volunteer lighting designer Ken Smith, who added "added light and haze and colors to really showcase the emotions of the place," Reilly said.

The program includes J.S. Bach's Violin Partita No. 3, BWV 1006: Gavotte en Rondeau, Astor Piazzolla's Tango Etudes Nos. 4 & 5, and Sergei Prokofiev's Sonata for Solo Violin, Op. 115, along with "Alone," a commission written by the symphony's composer-in-residence, John Wineglass, especially for Mok.

Reilly said Wineglass's piece contrasts the hustle and bustle of the pre-Covid world with the separation and loneliness that followed.

"The first movement is about a frenetic pace of living, with everybody multi-tasking," she explained. "The second movement is about the total feeling of isolation that many of us felt in 2020."

Next up for the symphony will be a concert by violinist Thomas Yee, which will be recorded inside the recently remodeled Pacific Grove Library and streamed Feb. 26.

To watch Friday's concert, visit montereysymphony. org.