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The Washington Post

Thursday, May 10, 2007; C13

International Sejong Soloists

"Last Round," the driving string nonet by Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov that opened the Sejong Soloists' concert Tuesday evening, could have easily come off as just a basic introduction, paving the way for the bigger works on the program. The New York-based chamber ensemble, filled with top-notch young performers, was at the Kennedy Center to close out the Fortas Chamber Music Series season. The players played the 1996 piece with a bravado and technique that made it more entree than appetizer.

In the way that the music of Bruckner conjures the sound of a grand organ, Golijov's piece strikes up the sonority of the bandoneon, an accordionlike instrument central to tango. Based on dance rhythms that build to an almost maniacal intensity, the opening movement uses the compression of the instrument, while the second movement is its matching, languorous release. Sejong attacked that opening with abandon -- surging lines from two high violins slashing across more dense textures. Gentle sequences and yearning tunes made up the remainder of the piece.

The boldness in attack, strength of accent and tightness in ensemble turned out to be welcome fixtures of the group's playing throughout. The Adagio from the Notturno in F, Perger 106 of Michael Haydn (Franz Joseph's younger brother), rarely touched pianissimo, but the group lovingly traced the flowing lines and plush accompaniment. A smart arrangement of Ravel's Quartet in F kept all of the original's elegance, though the added volume took away some of the deep mystery from the gorgeous third movement.

The group's principal cellist, Ole Akahoshi, made the most of the solos in Tchaikovsky's "Variations on a Rococo Theme," Op. 33. A warm tone and generally precise intonation marked his fine playing. Akahoshi and the other players are still growing musicians. But the way that the phrases developed and moved left little doubt that more interpretive profundity is on the way.

-- Daniel Ginsberg