There are two chamber music series here in the Des Moines area, one of them much better than the other: the On Stage concerts are held at the Des Moines Arts Center, designed in three stages beginning in the late 1940s, by three of the finest architects of their respective decades. Last night the Claremont Trio played there. Emily (violin) and Julia Bruskin (cello) are twins, and Donna Kwong plays piano. I hoped that three skinny pretty young women would turn out to be more than a good marketing idea, but I didn't know the half of it. They played a Mozart trio, the Shostakovich Opus 67, and after the interval, the Dvorak Dumky. I enjoyed the Mozart and began to relax. Then came the Shostakovich. These girls weren't even born yet when S. was a beacon of passion from the darkness of a horrible century, but they played the s--t out of that piece. When the twins play with mutes, the sounds come from the Other Side, too beautiful for words; when Donna launched into the Big Tune (same one as in the 8th string quartet, isn't it?) I almost had to get up and do a trepak in the aisle. Most of you probably know that touring artists in places like Madison, Des Moines, etc always get standing ovations, but usually at the end; the Claremont Trio got one before the interval, and I was the first on my feet. More than just pretty faces, then. I recommend their CD, with the Arensky Opus 32 and Shostakovish Op. 8 and 67, which I am listening to right now. But nothing can beat that live thrill. Donald Clarke *********************************************** The CLASSICAL mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's HDMail High Deliverability Mailer for reliable, lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html