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First Unitarian Church
June 17, 2012
Whenever there is a last-moment change in a concert programme, some in the audience often feel let down, as if someone had opened a trap door under their tap-dancing feet. It was therefore surprising to hear a sigh of relief rise from the audience when cellist Laura Backstrom announced that Max Reger's String Trio No. 1 would be replaced by Zoltán Kodály's Intermezzo and Jean Françaix' String Trio in C major. Reger's rather cerebral works may in fact be more suited to a mid-winter concert than to Eine Kleine Summer Music.
Like his Hungarian compatriots Liszt and Bartók, Kodály (1882 - 1967) visited villages to explore the rich inventory of Eastern European folk music, some of which he immortalised in adaptations like the one performed by the Muse Ensemble on this occasion. The work by the lesser-known French composer Jean Françaix (1912 - 1997) had a distinctly programmatic flavour, evoking images of Paris in the 1920's. If one so wished, the last of the four movements could be interpreted as two children taunting each other in the Jardin de Luxembourg. As one of them bursts into tears, the heavy footsteps of an approaching adult can be heard. There is much scolding, but when the adult turns to leave, the children quickly forget their earlier quarrel and amuse themselves by making faces at the adult behind his back.
Someone has said that a bit of Mozart is always welcome after the harmonic extravaganzas of 20th century music, because "it cleans out the ears." Indeed, after Kodály and Françaix, Mozart's Oboe Quartet in F major offered a return to more familiar musical territory. That said, oboist Pierre Cayer reminded the audience that Mozart sometimes indulged in musical innovation and rule-breaking to the point where his publishers threatened him with lock-out. To illustrate the point, Cayer and the string trio offered some examples, including a sequence where he had to produce 8 notes on his oboe for every 3 notes played by the strings.
While the original programme was meant to begin with Brahms' Piano Quartet in C minor, it was a smart move to save it to the end instead, because it is bound to leave any audience in a happy mood. The first movement begins with a harsh single octave on the piano, and is promptly followed by a loud sigh from the strings. The sigh sounds suspiciously like Brahms mouthing the name "Clara". Legend has it that he used this strategem to communicate his secret yearning for Clara Schumann, but camouflaged it in musical ambiguity so as not to upset her husband Robert. The "Clara" theme returns with a vengeance further along, leaving the listener to draw his or her own conclusions.
The second movement allowed Lorraine Min to show off her virtuosity on the Baldwin keyboard, and the third movement gave Laura Backman a similar opportunity on the cello. There were fine moments when the sound of the strings faded into the final notes of the piano. The last movement, with its luscious summer "Stimmung", was a very suitable ending to this instalment of Eine Kleine Summer Music.
My wife and I lived in Moscow shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. One of the delights available to Russians and foreigners alike was the vibrant music scene, not only because of the exquisite musicianship of the performers, but also due to the electric interaction with the highly knowledgeable audiences. That same unique synergy seems to be present at the EKSM events, to the credit of both the organisers, the performers and the audiences.
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