Above: Sol Gabetta, in a Marco Borggreve photo
~ Author: Oberon
Saturday May 12th, 2018 - It's been a great week for cello-lovers here in Gotham: on Tuesday, both Estelle Choi (of the Calidore String Quartet) and Clive Greensmith sounded simply great at a Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center concert; on Thursday, Jian Wang played a superb Elgar concerto with the New York Philharmonic; and this evening, the Argentine cellist Sol Gabetta was at Alice Tully Hall in our last Great Performers subscription concert of the season. The French pianist Bertrand Chamayou seemed a perfect musical collaborator for Ms. Gabetta and, after his splendid playing this evening, we look forward eagerly to hearing him play Mendelssohn with the New York Philharmonic in the week ahead.
Ms. Gabetta looked fetching in a satiny midnight-blue outfit with flared trousers and sparkly, bejeweled slippers. From note one, the program showed off these two excellent musicians in a deeply pleasing partnership, their voices mingling in music-making of both expansive lyricism and inspired nuance.
Beethoven performed the sonatas of his opus 5 for the first time in Vienna early in 1797 at a concert given with the cellist Bernhard Romberg, a former colleague of Beethoven's from the Bonn court orchestra. They were published soon after, and were available in print by February 1797.
The F major Sonata, Op 5 No 1, has only two movements, and they both are musically satisfying, though one wonders what Beethoven might have created in terms of formal adagio movement at this point in time. The first movement does commence - hesitantly - with an Adagio sostenuto passage that is quite substantial; it then develops into a traditional Allegro.
From the start, Ms. Gabetta and Mssr. Chamayou showed us how well-matched they are in both technique and musical imagination: their playing is songful and rhythmically vibrant. The cellist's seamless, silken line and the pianist's deft and dynamically varied playing meshed to perfection. One very long, sustained note from Ms. Gabetta lingers in the mind: so steady and spiritual a sound.
The second and final movement is a Rondo in 6/8 time gets off to a light start; it almost feels like a scherzo. Harmonic modulations underscore shifts in mood along the way. Following shimmering trills from the Steinway, the music slows for a delicate exchange between the two instruments before a brief, lively finish.
Benjamin Britten's Sonata in C major, Op. 65, was given a remarkable performance this evening, both the music and the playing of it really drawing me in. The opening aptly-named Dialogo starts with the the cello playing some fragmented phrases, as if finding its voice; the piano replies with a rising motif in thirds. Things become animated, then lull again for a more pensive exchange. Things turn lively - almost jazzy - and then a pulsing, rocking feeling from the cello signals yet another rather hesitant conversation. An exquisitely sustained
ppp note from Ms. Gabetta, underscored by Mssr. Cahamyou's hushed playing, was unfortunately spoilt by a very loud, ill-timed cough from an audience member. Such heavenly moments, thus lost, can never be retrieved.
For the Scherzo-pizzicato, Ms. Gabetta gently laid her bow down next to her chair: her part in this magically light movement consists strictly of plucking.
The tonal sheen of Ms. Gabetta's playing, reflected in Mssr. Chamayou's expressiveness, gave a dolorosa feeling to the sonata's haunting and imaginative Elegia. The music turns passionate, and there's another superbly sustained note from the cello, before melancholy returns. The Marcia has a militant air, and the final Moto perpetuo is in the rondo mode, passing through various chromatics and harmonizations before emerging in a clarity of C-major. Ms. Gabetta and Mssr. Chamayou had clearly wowed the attentive crowd with this splendid performance, evoking sustained applause.
Above: Bertrand Chamayou, photographed by Marco Borggreve
Following the interval, the music of Frédéric Chopin took over for the rest of the evening. His Sonata in G minor, Op. 65, which was to be his final major work, was written in Paris in 1845-1846 and was first played by the cellist August Frachomme, a longtime friend of the composer. By 1849, the Chopin would be dead, leaving us - as with Mozart, Bellini, and so many others - wondering what might have been.
A truly beautiful introductory passage for the piano starts sadly and then begins to shimmer. Here Mssr. Chamayou was at his most poetic. A soulful cello melody commences, descending to the depths, with Ms. Gabettas's passionate playing so heartfelt. As the first movement progresses, the sheer gorgeousness of the playing transported us to another realm. Chopin, on his deathbed, is said to have asked Franchomme to play it for him, but then he could not bear to hear more than the opening bars.
The Scherzo, which includes a songful melody of great loveliness, is restless in mood and has a dancelike feel as the themes ebb and flow. To the Largo, Ms. Gabetta and Mssr. Chamayou brought an air of consolation, with their intrinsic sense of detail infusing the long, lyrical lines as the music flowed onward. The dynamic control of the two players was breathtaking. In the concluding Allegro, which takes off from a sudden, flashing start, both artists maintained an irresistible forward impetus whilst displaying their virtuosity for the delight of the audience.
Chopin was said to have been reluctant to write a fantasia on music of another composer. He had attended a performance of Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable and liked it, but when a commission came in for a solo piano fantasy based on themes from the opera, Chopin balked. The cellist Franchomme persuaded Chopin that they should jointly write the piece for cello and piano; Chopin wrote piano part, Franchomme the cello part. The piece was published under both their names as "Grand Duo on themes from Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable."
It's a truly enjoyable piece, and was marvelously played by Ms. Gabetta and Mr. Chamayou tonight, though I must say that I missed hearing theme of the opera's great aria soprano aria, "Robert, toi que j'aime" which - I would have thought - would have been the centerpiece of the fantasia. Instead, Chopin seems to have gone in for the more bravura portions of the Meyerbeer score.
Tonight this Grand Duo gave great pleasure: the two musicians reveled in all the opportunities that Meyerbeer/Chopin provided for them: a grand start for the piano; melodies for the cello in which the massive allure of Gabetta's tone shone forth; dancing passages; passion and delicacy in turn; and hints of the daemonic theme of the opera's story. Chopin may have hesitated to accept this commission, but hearing it tonight we can only be glad that - in the end - he agreed to it.
The Gabetta/Chamayou duo drew a full-house standing ovation; they played two encores which were both terribly familiar but I can't for the life of me name them. A really wonderful evening of music!