Above: violinist Chad Hoopes
~ Author: Oberon
Tuesday April 19th, 2019 - Continuing their 2019 Winter Festival - a four-concert series entitled Russian Panorama - Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center brought forth a vivid and varied program that included the Shostakovich song cycle From Jewish Folk Poetry, which I was very keen to hear live again since first experiencing it at the NY Philharmonic in 1996 - the concert where I first heard the great Larissa Diadkova. Music by Rubinstein, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky was also on this evening's bill.
As a brief and beautiful opening piece, violinist Chad Hoopes and the beloved pianist Gilbert Kalish drew us into the often melancholy world of Russian music with Anton Rubinstein's 'Romance' from Soirées à Saint-Petersbourg for Violin and Piano, Op. 44, No. 1. Composed in 1860, it blends sadness and passion - those hallmarks of the Russian repertoire - and was superbly played.
Mr. Kalish returned to the Steinway to accompany the Armenian soprano Mané Galoyan (above, in a Lynn Lane portrait) in three Rimsky-Korsakov songs. The soprano's voice has real immediacy of sound; she filled Tully Hall with generous lyric tone, and she is a vivid musical communicator. Words and notes are all of a piece, and the voice has an attractive vibrancy that gives life to the music.
In the opening 'Eastern Song: the Nightingale and the Rose', the exotic character of the opening piano introduction led to the singer's plaintive, richly-coloured performance, which ends with a vocalise. The tinkling, twinkling sound of the Steinway introduced 'Summer Night's Dream' in which Ms. Galoyan's pealing lyricism and her flair for expressing passion and drama produced an outpouring of beautiful sound. The song turns pensive, but then its grandeur returns for a rhapsodic finish. The third song, 'The Clouds Begin to Scatter', starts soft and sad, with a dreamy piano part. Passion rises, but then subsides to a quietude of nightfall. Ms. Galoyan drew very enthusiastic applause from the audience, and how lovely it was to have Mr. Kalish as her musical collaborator.
Mr. Kalish was then joined by Gilles Vonsattel for a round of piano-four-hands: Igor Stravinsky's Five Easy Pieces (1917) are a delight, pure and simple. Mr. Vonsattel took the lower range, and Mr. Kalish the higher; they commenced with the Andante, a simple song in which Mr. Vonsattel maintained a steady pulse. Next came Española, agitated at first...and then merely bouncy. The Balalaika dances along to an accented end, and the Napolitana has a bubbling quality, and ends softly. The Galop starts emphatically, simmers down, and then there's a kind of da capo. It's all just so much fun!
The evening's other vocalists now joined Ms. Galoyan for the Shostakovitch song cycle From Jewish Folk Poetry, Opus 79 which was composed in 1948, the year of my birth.
Contralto Sara Couden (above) opened the cycle, joining Ms. Galoyan in 'Lament Over the Death of a Small Child', a dirge-like song in which Ms. Couden sang deep and Ms. Galoyan sang big. They joined on a sustained, fading note at the end. Things were less downcast with 'Thoughtful Mother and Aunt', a jolly song in which the two women had fun. Ms. Couden excelled in in the mournful 'Cradle Song', her voice earthy and haunting as she skillfully manipulated her vibrato to maximum coloristic effect.
Now we meet the tenor, Miles Mykkanen (above, in a Kristin Hoebermann portrait), who joined Ms. Galoyan for the duet 'Before a Long Separation'. Mr. Mykkanen's is a most pleasing voice to hear: clear, powerful, and ardent. He and Ms. Galoyan were well-matched vocally and in their keen sense of the music as theater. Ms. Galoyan brought a feeling of hesitation to 'Warning'.
Things turned operatic with 'The Deserted Father' in which Ms. Couden and Mr. Mykkanen played up the drama of a girl who wants to marry a policemen, against her father's wishes. The tenor's 'Song of Misery' displayed his deft gift for characterization: he's a most engaging singer...and dancer, too, it seems.
'Winter' brings the three singers together. Mr. Mykkanen's clear sound and fine control were to the fore here, the women vocalizing as a counterpoint. Things get operatic, ending on a sustained note from all. The tenor continued to impress in 'The Good Life' which was beautifully phrased and tonally captivating; his natural presence, expressive hands, and sure sense of commitment to what he was singing made a very fine impression.
Ms. Galoyan returned for 'Young Girl's Song' in which she sang charmingly, with a touch of irony...and her sustained final note hung on the air. The cycle concludes with the trio 'Happiness' in which Ms. Couden carries the narrative with her plushy timbre, whilst all three harmonize during the interludes. With the invaluable participation of Gilbert Kalish, this Shostakovich jewel won a great, heartfelt response from the audience tonight.
The interval provided a chance for my friend Ben Weaver and I to discuss how much we had enjoyed the three singers and all the songs in that wonderful cycle. Ben then mentioned that he was not looking forward to the evening's final work, Tchaikovsky's Trio in A-minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 50. This I was a shock to hear, since Ben is an ardent admirer of all things Tchaikovsky. He said he had tried many times to connect to this piece - and listened to recordings of it by some of the greatest musicians - but that it continued to elude him.
Mr. Hoopes was joined by Mr. Vonsattel and the excellent cellist Clive Greensmith (above) and as they took their places onstage, I was curious as to whether I would agree with Ben's assessment of the work, which I was hearing tonight or the first time.
Written in two movements, the work is on the long side (50 minutes, per the Playbill); but then, Ben and I are major devotees of Wagner, so that in itself was not an issue. The opening Pezzo elegiaco; Moderato assai was drop-dead gorgeous: prime Tchaikovsky.
It opens with a sublime cello melody, richly intoned by Mr. Greensmith, that is then taken up by Mr. Hoopes' violin. These two musicians are a perfect match-up, both in the cordiality of their blend and in the lovely energy their playing creates. Add the exceptional pianism of Mr. Vonsattel, and we are borne along on waves of Tchaikovskian passion and agitated ardor.
A tranquil passage - sweet sounds from the violin and a sense of tender yearning from the cello - show everything we love about Tchaikovsky's music. Rippling downward scales from Mr. Vonsattel's keyboard and long cello tones from Mr. Greensmith bring us thru to more dreaminess: harmonizing strings over delicate piano figurations. The movement has a sustained, pensive ending.
At this point, I am thinking my friend Ben had lost his marbles, because this is Tchaikovsky at his finest: the composer whose operas and ballet scores I never tire of. But then the second movement began - a theme and variations setting - and I started to feel wary: if a theme is unmemorable, the variations won't save it.
Mr. Vonsattel played the theme beautifully, but musically it seemed ordinary. Carrying on, the three musicians played so attractively...and played and played and played. Thru major and minor variations, thru all sorts of rhythmic shifts - even to the seeming tinkling of a toy piano - the composer does every imaginable thing to the theme, but nothing captures our attention nor comes anywhere within hailing distance of the heart or soul, which mark Tchaikovsky can so readily hit most of the time.
The thematic material soon wore out its welcome, and only the perfect playing of the three musicians kept me from giving up. The rest of the audience, however, seemed thrilled. The hall exploded with cheers and loud applause as the trio ended.
~ Oberon