Lafon Arts Performing Center. Tatiana Berman, violin, Elena Kholodova, piano

Violinist Tatiana Berman, accompanied by pianist Elena Kholodova performed Not So Classical: Inspire, opening the inaugural season of the new Lafon Performing Arts Center. It was an exceptional evening of music and film.

The evening began with a 58min documentary screening of Forte, featuring Tatiana Berman, Lucia Caruso, and Eldbjorg Hemsing. Directed by David Donnelly, (Maestro and Nordic Pulse), Forte is a documentary that explores the meaning of success and excellence from the female perspective. From the film’s website: “It challenges the popular and perhaps somewhat outdated notions of success in classical music through a fast-paced narrative of three female artists.” The female artist stories were engaging and emotionally affecting, connected via several similar yet different threads of discipline, dreams, loss, and strength. We get to witness Lucia Caruso writing the score for the film while the film is being made, and learn about Ms. Berman’s unconventional career path. This is a beautiful, fast-paced, and highly enjoyable documentary.

The second part of the opening program included audience favorites by Bach, Piazzolla, Tchaikovsky, and Debussy, as well as two new works - Vitali Variations by Tatiana Berman and Forte Rhapsody by Lucía Caruso. From the very first note, it was evident that Ms. Berman is an outstanding musician of the highest caliber. Ms. Berman’s sound is absolutely exquisite, and her interpretations were exciting and engaging, with subtle phrasing throughout the performance. Together with pianist Ms. Kholodova, they created contrasting emotional musical experiences for the audience, and their exceptional ability to bring out the individual character of each piece was complimented by the stories told in the short films between each piece. Afterward, the audience enjoyed a Q & A with the soloist on stage. The program was extremely very well received, with several audience members moved to tears, and a standing ovation at the end.