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First Unitarian Church
June 20, 2010
The music of Robert Schumann and I have always enjoyed a somewhat ambivalent relationship. Whereas there are works of his which I love (even if they do not quite achieve Desert Island status) - the second and fourth symphonies, Kinderszenen - there are equally many which I can take or (more frequently) leave.
Unfortunately, much of Schumann's chamber music falls under this category and the Piano Quartet, Op.47, which closed Sunday's concert, is, alas, no exception. (After my remarks about the Fauré a couple of weeks ago, readers might be getting the impression that I have a bias against piano quartets - this really is not the case; why, some of my best friends...)
Once again, therefore, my comments needs must distinguish between my lack of sympathy for the music itself and my enthusiasm for the fine playing - for such it was - from Terence Tam, Kenji Fusé, Laura Backstrom and Lorraine Min.
The opening movement, after a solemn, vibrato-laden introduction, was well-balanced and energetic, without ever being hard-driven.
The second movement, with moto perpetuo-like aspects, scurried along. The third opened with a big cello tone from Backstrom for the melody, although I did feel that the overall tempo was just a mite too fast, not quite giving the music room enough to breathe. The closing bars, though, were lovely.
For some reason Schumann often seems to let himself down in his finales: his tendency towards foursquare rhythms surfaces and, here as with the Piano Quintet of a few months earlier, he essays a fugal section, with the predictable results; I can scarcely think of another great composer whose outlook seems so basically incompatible with this most formal of forms.
A very fine performance of music which, perhaps, doesn't deserve it.
The afternoon opened with some very unfamiliar music: Glière's Eight Pieces for violin and cello.
This was pure, unmitigated delight: from the rather melancholy Prelude to the Will o' the wisp-ish final Étude, each piece had its own distinctive character and was marvellously played by Tam and Backstrom. Perhaps there was a lack of an overall musical character - there were hints of Brahms here, of Mendelssohn there - but the performance certainly opened up one pair of ears to the possibility of seeking out more by the scarcely-known composer.
If there is one composer for whom the description "scarcely-known" has never applied, that composer would be Beethoven.
Tam and Min closed the first half of the programme with an excellent performance of his Violin Sonata Op.12, No.3 - composed in 1798 and dedicated to Salieri (who, presumably, Beethoven did not believe to have poisoned Mozart).
Any temptation to cast this music in the mould of mature Beethoven was firmly resisted, although the dramatic moments had sufficient drama for anyone's tastes, and the playing was stylistically spot on. The second movement was particularly impressive for its concentration and intensity, while the rondo finale tripped along playfully.
Another delightful afternoon's music-making.
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