Above: Juho Pohjonen
Friday March 20th, 2015 - Three outstanding artists joined forces this evening at Alice Tully Hall as Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presented yet another outstanding programme in their Intimate Expressions series. Pianist Juho Pohjonen joined violinist Benjamin Beilman for Schubert and cellist Jan Vogler for Schnittke; then all three musicians concluded the performance with Schubert's trio #1 in B-flat major.
Despite a late-Winter snowfall and chilling winds, a large audience filled Tully Hall, and it was in a marvelous state of silent anticipation that the listeners opened their hearts and minds to the extraordinary music coming from the stage. This state of mutual communication, where the players can't help but be aware of the spell they are casting over the Hall, is one of the great pleasures of Chamber Music Society's presentations.
The level of artistry today was extraordinarily high. When Benjamin Beilman and Juho Pojhonen walked onstage we were struck by their youthful appearance and a trace of shyness as they acknowledged the welcoming applause. But as soon as they began to play, their surety of technique and depth of musicality drew us in to their compelling delivery of the opening Schubert.
Above: Benjamin Beilman
The Schubert Fantasy in C-major (1827) is a long work in seven inter-connected movements and it places extraordinary demands on the violinist while also requiring a pianist who is far more than an accompanist, but rather a partner in expressiveness.
The extraordinary delicacy of Mr. Pohjonen's opening measures showed us at once that we were in the presence of a master of dynamic control; the silken seamlessness of his playing was ideally taken up by Mr. Beilman in his opening lyrical flight. As the sonata progresses, the violin's poignant theme of longing shifts to a dynamic dancelike passage. In a set of variations, Mr. Beilman showed his skill in alternate plucking and bowing, as well as in flourishes of fast fiorature and rolling cascades of melody. A rapturous theme for violin and piano has a heart-rending quality, and soon we return to the still calm of the work's opening statements. The gallantly graceful pace of the finale lulls into a last evocative slow passage before a dash to the finish. The audience embraced the two young paragons with warm enthusiasm for their savorable performance.
Above: Jan Vogler
Jan Vogler was making his CMS debut today, and a welcome event it was: he took on the the daunting combination of angularity and soulfulness that make the Schnittke sonata so remarkable, and again Mr. Pojhonen at the Steinway was an ideal accomplice.
Commencing with a rather ominous cello theme, this sonata often has a dreamlike (even nightmarish) sense of mystery. The cellist at one point slithers up and down a snakelike scale passage with a creepiness that evokes thoughts of the eerie prelude to Klytemnestra's murder in Strauss's ELEKTRA. In fact, the Schnittke might be said to echo the Strauss opera in its mixture of violence and unexpected flashes of lyricism.
I scrawled several brief notes, not wanting to take my eyes off our intrepid players: "march-like piano", "rambunctious cello", "bizarre waltz", "restless quest"...and then suddenly Mr. Pohjonen lays into the lowest notes of the keyboard to produce a violent sonic boom. He then immediately swirls upward to the highest range, whilst Mr. Vogler takes up a desolate theme. The cello goes to the depths - and such resonant depths - interrupted by an aching/annoying 2-note motif before ending up on a very sustained tone. A brief, mysterious plucked passage before settling back into the deep while the piano creates a soft cloud of starshine in the highest range.
Let's have Mr. Vogler back for the second Schnittke sonata, at the earliest opportunity.
After the interval, the three gentlemen set to a performance of Schubert's Trio in B flat major, immediately establishing the kind of congenial rapport that makes a great piece of music even greater.
The trio was probably written in 1827; the original autograph score is lost. It is in four movements, and I can't imagine a more pleasing rendition than tonight's with its fusion of the three voices constantly sending those delightful little chills up the spine. The nostalgic theme that opens the Andante expanded into a vivid emotional experience with playing that was subtle and full of nuance. The three gentlemen were in a playful mood for the witty and sparkling Scherzo - with its lovely surprise of a slower interlude - and then moved on to the sprightly dance of the final Rondo, which includes an unusual 'fluttery' motif.
In this trio, the three players showed both graceful dexterity and a mutual desire to draw forth each thread of melody for our delight. Both in programming and in the choice of artists, Chamber Music Society sets the highest standard. I entered Alice Tully Hall tonight with great expectations, only to find they were not simply met, but surpassed. Incredibly, that seems to be the norm here at CMS.
The Repertory:
- Schubert Fantasy in C major for Violin and Piano, D. 934, Op. 159 (1827)
- Schnittke Sonata No. 1 for Cello and Piano (1978)
- Schubert Trio No. 1 in B-flat major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, D. 898, Op. 99 (1827)
The Participating Artists: Juho Pohjonen (piano); Benjamin Beilman (violin); Jan Vogler (cello)