http://www.sfcv.org/arts_revs/musicmenlo1_8_9_05.php
Music critics' epaulets are routinely torn off their shoulders
if they mention "time standing still," but there are no sufficient
euphemisms to get around the hackneyed phrase this time, so
farewell to my ornamental cloth pad for now.
The moment came early at the Music@Menlo Festival's third program
on Tuesday, in Palo Alto's St. Mark's Church. It was during the
second movement of Beethoven's Piano Trio in D Major (the "Ghost")
when musicians and surroundings fell away and the mysterious,
haunting music took over, as time, yes, stood still.
Three very different musicians, seemingly not all that well
grouped together - violinist Ian Swensen, cellist Ronald Thomas,
and pianist Derek Han - were already getting their "ensemble
legs" in the opening Allegro of the Op. 70, No. 1: a lyrical
cello, a heroic piano, with the violin providing the connective
tissue. And then the Largo, and the music played truly "allegro
assai ed espressivo" - "very lively and expressively" and yet
something well beyond that: fluent, flawless, inexorable, and
in an enchanted fashion, perhaps "incantato"?
After that breathtaking opener, there was an almost welcome rest
provided by a mild-mannered, forgettable - and indeed virtually
forgotten - work: Carl Maria von Weber's Grand Quintet for
Clarinet and Strings. The 1815 work is a mid-career shot at
chamber music, with an opening Allegro that seems to pay tribute
to Beethoven and a closing Rondo that imitates Rossini. In-
between, there are many pleasant notes, and virtually no music
to sink one's teeth into.
And yet, young festival favorite (and the Metropolitan Opera's
new principal clarinetist) Anthony McGill did the most he could
with the Weber, well-supported by the Miro Quartet. The ensemble,
participating in the festival's complete cycle of Beethoven
quartets, is from the University of Texas, Austin. Its members
are Daniel Ching and Sandy Yamamoto (violins), John Largess
(viola), and Joshua Gindele (cello).
"Serious" music returned after the intermission, with Mendelssohn's
1845 Quintet for Strings in B-flat Major, played to the hilt by
a remarkable fivesome: violinists Swensen and Jorja Fleezanis,
violists Cynthia Phelps and Geraldine Walther, and cellist David
Finckel. They honored the work with the utmost dedication,
visible-audible-palpable involvement and commitment, through the
majestic Allegro, the graceful Andante, hitting a high(er) point
in the Adagio, and its slow, enchanting introduction - before
music and performance turned "heavy" briefly. The experience of
watching and hearing Phelps and Walther playing side by side
justifies the name and spirit of a "festival," being a truly
festive occasion.
In the concluding Allegro (molto vivace), Swensen became literally
and musically airborne, leaning into the music with such force
that he occupied his chair only now and then. What normally could
be just distracting mannerism was more than acceptable in this
case, the physicality of the performance being a sincere,
unaffected part of an obvious personal-best achievement that
propelled the music forward amazingly. Besides the audience
acclaim, Swensen received warm acknowledgment from his colleagues,
all five beaming in the elation that follows an obviously great
performance.
Young musicians of the festival's International Program (of
coaching and performing) also acquitted themselves well during
the afternoon Prelude concert. Violinist Nathan Olson, violist
Jessica Oudin, and cellist David Requiro presented an excellent
Beethoven String Trio in G Major (Op. 9, No. 1), starting with
spacious opening bars, exhibiting a playful ensemble sound. They
got into the heart of the music in the second-movement Adagio,
with restraint, and singing the "cantabile" part that has one
of Beethoven's best vocal-music passage (albeit written for
strings). Olson and Oudin are eloquent musicians; Requiro presents
a fascinating contrast of looking impossibly young and yet playing
with consistent, calm maturity. The trio - and the audience -
had great fun with the Presto's breakneck (and yet accurate)
rush.
Pianist Teresa Yu, featured in a previous festival concert
described in Classical Voice (www.sfcv.org), was even more
impressive at this Prelude concert, anchoring the Beethoven
Piano Quartet in E-flat Major (Op. 16), with a bright sound and
rock-solid consistency, serving as an eminently musical metronome
. . . and leader. Violinist Amy Schroeder, violist Gillian
Gallagher, and cellist Andrew Yee played "gravely" where this
work - originally written for woodwinds - called for it, but
also channeling later the lively sound of those instruments.
(The opening Allegro is actually marked "Grave.")
Gallagher took a star turn in the Andante cantabile, her viola
floating on pearly runs from Yu's piano. Through the work, the
young musicians met the music's unusual challenge of repeating
long passages, and yet making the same notes sound different
every time.
(Janos Gereben, a regular contributor to www.sfcv.org, is arts
editor of the Post Newspaper Group.)
Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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