BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL PARK CITY, Park City Community Church, Aug. 2; through Aug. 20, tickets at www.pcmusicfestival.com
Composers have generally neglected the viola as a solo instrument. Why that’s the case is a mystery, since the instrument combines the best of the violin and cello. Not as heavy as the latter nor as strident as the former can be, the viola blends well within any instrumental combination.
A few significant works have been written for the viola, mainly by 20th century composers. One of these is an absolute gem in the chamber repertoire – Dmitri Shostakovich’s Sonata for Viola and Piano, op. 147. The Russian composer’s last work, the sonata is predominantly dark and brooding, reflective and, especially in the last movement, imbued with an overwhelming sense of resignation.
The sonata was on Thursday’s Beethoven Festival concert played with articulately crafted musicality by violist Leslie Harlow and pianist Doris Stevenson. Harlow’s mellow tone and Stevenson’s sensitive playing underscored the seriousness of the opening movement, and the nuances they brought to their playing in the wickedly delectable second movement captured the dark undertone that runs through this piece.
But the closing Adagio, based on the opening movement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, was the highpoint of the work. Stevenson played this movement before the Shostakovich, which dramatically emphasized the close motivic relationship between the two works. There is a feeling of resignation in this movement that Harlow and Stevenson brought to the fore with their perceptive interpretation. Their playing was beautifully textured and filled with emotional depth and quite eloquent.
The major work in the second half was Maurice Ravel’s Piano Trio. But before that, Stevenson and clarinetist Russell Harlow gave a gorgeously lyrical and fluid account of the composer’s sultry Pièce en forme de Habanera.
The Piano Trio is one of the great works of the genre and this was an exceptionally perceptive collaboration among the three players – Stevenson, violinist Manuel Ramos and cellist Julie Bevan. The playing was well balanced and Stevenson never overpowered her partners.
The way they played each of the four movements was memorable. They brought out the dreamy expressiveness of the opening movement, the fleeting character of the Pantoum, the depth and subtleties of the Passacaille and the brilliance of the finale. And in this final movement none of the players were overwhelmed by the virtuosity of the writing. They embraced it and deftly wove it into the musical fabric. It felt organic and natural and was executed with clean articulation.
