Author: Oberon
Sunday May 15th, 2022 - The final program of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's 2021-2022 season...and what a season it has been! Great programs played by fantastic musicians for attentive, engaged, and enthusiastic audiences. This evening's program - and the line-up of musicians - gave great pleasure, from first note to last.
Above, the artists of the Miró Quartet: William Fedkenheuer, John Larges, Joshua Gindele, and Daniel Ching, in a Jeff Wilson photo. The Miró players, whether as an ensemble or as individuals, played a major role in the evening's success.
Opening the concert, Heinrich von Biber's Sonata representativa in A-major for Violin and Continuo, C. 146 (B. IV 184) (c. 1669) brought forth Mr. Fedkenheuer as solo violinist with Mr. Gindele's cello and Michael Stephen Brown at the harpsichord giving the continuo a fine polish. This sonata is in nine movements, some of them named for various birds and other creatures.
It opens with a stately Allegro, with fanfare-like passages. We then hear from the Nightingale, wherein the violinist executes flourishes of coloratura over sustained cello phrases. The cello plays the two-note Cuckoo motif next, followed by the slashing, discordant hops of The Frog. Cock and Hens starts slowly and then turns rapid and screechy. By contrast, the gracious Quail drew lovely playing from all three musicians. Then Mr. Fedkenheuer had fun producing "meows" on his violin for the hilarious Cat. The gallant Musketeers March found Mr. Gindele drumming on his cello; the sonata ends with an elegant Allemande.
Soprano Erika Baikoff of he Metropolitan Opera Young Artists Program then appeared, in a striking creamy-white gown, to sing Handel's “Sweet Bird” for from L’Allegro, il Pensieroso ed il Moderato (composed 1740). The renowned flautist Tara Helen O'Connor provided the sweetest bird-calls imaginable whilst Mr. Gindele and pianist Lucille Chung (lovely in an aquamarine frock) were the continuo duo. The voice of Miss Baikoff, an excellent Xenia in the Met's BORIS GODUNOV earlier this season, at first seemed overly large and vibrant in the space; but she quickly found her footing, with some nimble fiorature and alluring straight tones. Ms. O'Connor's playing was simply enchanting.
The Miró Quartet then gave an exemplary performance of Franz Joseph Haydn's Quartet in D-major for Strings, Hob. III:63, Op. 64, No. 5, “The Lark”, dating from 1790) this quartet is known as “The Lark” because of the soaring, circling violin melody in the first movement, but that designation did not come from the composer.
The opening movement, Allegro moderato, finds Daniel Ching’s violin soaring sweetly over a graceful rhythm. Interesting harmonies spring up; after an agitato passage, the violin's "lark" theme returns. Speaking of harmonies, Haydn gives us some gorgeous ones in the Adagio cantabile, with Mr. Ching delivering the lyrical melodic line with serene grace. Mr. Gindele's cello sounds abundantly warm here.
The elegant Menuetto features touches of humour, and then we arrive at the Finale: Vivace, a brisk movement in which Mr. Ching dazzled us with his fast and fluent playing. The audience, clearly hanging on every note, burst into lively applause at the finish.
After the interval, Ms. Baikoff returned for Aaron Copland's brief and comical “I Bought Me a Cat” from Old American Songs, dating from 1950. This calls for the singer to make various animal sounds, which Ms. Baikoff did with good-natured enthusiasm. The song is over so soon, though, and surely the soprano merited another number: maybe Schubert's Die Forelle...?
The evening proceeded with a spectacular rendering of Claude Debussy's sensual masterwork, Prelude à l’après-midi d’un faune; the music was composed in 1892–94, with the arrangement given this evening dating from 1920. What an ensemble the Society put together! It's hard to imagine a more spell-binding performance of this music.
Tara Helen O'Connor's astounding breath control allowed for flowing passages of soul-moving beauty and expressiveness. Her woodwind colleagues, Stephen Taylor (oboe) and Jose Franch-Ballester (clarinet) were equally impressive. Mr. Taylor, who so recently delighted me in a Bach cantata with the Orchestra of Saint Luke's at Carnegie Hall, and Mr. Franch-Ballestar, a handsome fellow indeed, both delivered their phrases tonight with a special glow. Lucille Chung was at the piano, playing rhapsodically, whilst Mr. Brown was seated at a small organ from which he summoned mellow sounds. Scott Pingel's rich-toned bass playing kept hitting my pleasure nerve at all the right moments, while the fellows from the Miró gave Debussy's string writing the lush treatment. Percussionist Ian David Rosenbaum gave the ensemble its final, subtle touch. I have had countless memorable musical experiences over the years, but this Faune is up there in the topmost echelon.
Scott Pingel's double-bass was rightly front-and-center for the concluding work, Camille Saint-Saëns' Le carnaval des animaux. Prevousy I had only heard this famous work at New York City Ballet, where Christopher Wheeldon's 2003 ballet set to this music played for a few seasons, and was taken up by other companies.
As the carnaval's fourteen movements unfolded before us tonight, there was so much to take in, and to savour, from the grand theatricality of the opening Royal March of the Lions, thru the slow and solemn Elephant, and the shimmering piano, strings, and flute of Aquarium, everything was superbly played. Mr. Franch-Ballester suddenly left the stage, only to be heard moments later from the wings, intoning the Cuckoo's two-note call, to the delight of the audience. Tremelo strings and Ms. O'Connor's flute gave us the charming Birds, whilst Pianists became a comedy routine. In the amusing Fossils, bits of "Twinkle, twinkle little star" and "Mon ami Pierrot" spring up, and Ayano Kataoka strikes up the xylophone. The poignant theme of The Swan was handsomely played by Mr. Gindele; people definitely wanted to applaud him when it ended, but they restrained themselves. In the Finale, Ms. OConnor took up the piccolo, to brilliant effect.
Update: some photos from this concert have just come my way; the photographer is Cherylynn Tsushima; click on each image to enlarge:
Above: William Fedkenheuer, Michael Brown, and Joshua Gindele playing Biber
Above, Tara Helen O'Connor, Lucille Chung, Joshua Gindele, and Erika Baikoff: "Sweet Bird"
Above: the Miró Quartet playing Haydn
Above: the players salute Tara Helen O'Connor after the Debussy
Above: "Carnival of the Animals"
Above: final bow, standing ovation
Many thanks to Beverly Greenfield of Kirschbaum Associates for the photos, and for arranging everything for me during the Chamber Music Society's 2021-2022 season.
~ Oberon