AUTUMN CLASSICS MUSIC FESTIVAL, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, University of Utah, Oct. 9
Chamber music didn’t figure prominently in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s creative output, but he did write one work that is without question his best and also one of the finest string pieces of the late 19th century: the string sextet Souvenir de Florence, op. 70.
There aren’t too many string sextets, especially when compared to the huge number of quartets that have been written, or even compared to the sizable body of quintets. Antonin Dvorak and Johannes Brahms wrote sextets, and Tchaikovsky’s fits right in with these. It’s a real gem filled with the melodicism one expects to hear from the master of melody.
It takes the right kind of musicians to pull off this piece effectively, and the group assembled at Sunday’s closing concert of the Autumn Classics Music Festival played it with flair, feeling and passion.
Violinist Paul Rosenthal was originally scheduled to play but had to cancel due to illness. Stepping in his place as first violinist in the Tchaikovsky was Monte Belknap. Replacing him as second was Aubrey Woods. They were joined by violists Leslie Harlow and Alexander Woods; and cellists Stephen Balderston and Julie Bevan.
The six gave a fabulously light, spirited, energetic and enthusiastic account of the Souvenir. They brought out the exuberance of the music with their lively playing.
Belknap set the stage for the others right from the start. His playing was infused with finely crafted lyricism that was mirrored by the others. And the first chair players (Belknap, Harlow and Balderston) played their numerous solos with wonderful expressiveness.
This was a performance that was absolutely captivating for its intimacy and freshness.
The first half of the concert opened with a trio for clarinet, cello and piano by a composer who has been relegated to obscurity. Carl Frühling was an Austrian composer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries whose music embodies the lush romanticism of the era without the philosophical weightiness of Gustav Mahler or the density of textures of Johannes Brahms. He is his own unique voice who wrote some very appealing and well crafted music.
His Trio, op. 40, is effusively expressive and gorgeously melodic but doesn’t overwhelm the listener with its voluminous sound. It was given a refined and polished reading by clarinetist Russell Harlow, Balderston and pianist John Jensen. They played it with nuanced phrasings and wonderfully articulated expressions.
Rounding out the concert was David Popper’s Tarantella for cello and piano and played by Balderston and Jensen.
A virtuoso cellist as well as composer, Popper’s Tarantella is a tour de force for the cellist and Balderston (the former assistant principal of the Chicago Symphony) made short work of this piece. His technique is amazing and the virtuosity he put on display in this piece was dazzling.
