Above: Steven Banks and Hanzhi Wang
Tuesday February 22nd 2023 - Young Concert Artists presenting a noontime concert at The Morgan Library featuring the unusual combination of accordion and saxophone. The players - Hanzhi Wang (accordion) and Steven Banks (saxophone) - have both previously appeared at The Morgan in solo recitals; they are brilliant, unique artists, and I was eager to hear them live again. But the afternoon did not turn out as planned.
We settled into our seats, but after a few minutes we were shivering. We put our coats back on, but the damp chill was pervasive. Looking around, it seemed that everyone in the audience was bundled up, and I was recalling an evening many years ago when the young Frederica von Stade gave a recital in a frigid hall in Syracuse, NY, where the maintenance staff had inadvertently shut off the heat; luckily, someone located a small space heater which was set up onstage to keep the singer somewhat warm.
This afternoon's musicians took the stage, Mr. Banks towering over the petite Ms. Wang. They launched their program with an arrangement of Handel's Recorder sonata in G-minor, HWV 360; it took a moment to adjust to the brighter sound of the saxophone in music we are accustomed to hearing played with the softer timbre of the recorder, but Mr. Banks immediately scaled back his dynamic palette, bringing delicious subtleties to the music. Meanwhile Ms. Wang, looking so lovely in her pleated white frock, transformed her accordion into a compact organ, playing with such cordial tone and bending the phrases with consummate skill. As he music veered from courtly to festive, the players were wonderfully in sync and so attentive to one another, making for a musical treat.
Three miniatures by Krzysztof Penderecki - the great and sorely missed Polish master-composer - were so fascinating to hear. The first, Allegro, is weirdly spastic; it seems to reach its quirky end in a matter of seconds, with the players wryly relishing the innate humour of the piece. A dark and doleful Andante cantabile followed, the timbres of the two instruments blending to perfection. The concluding Allegro ma non troppo is a bouncy dance, polished off zestfully by Ms. Wang and Mr. Banks.
Now Ms. Wang offered excerpts from Bach's Goldberg Variations: the very familiar Aria, played with great depth of feeling, followed by four variations which called for all manner of fanciful fiorature, dispatched with effortless grace and polish by this remarkable virtuoso.
Virtuosity continued in abundance as Ms. Wang gave us two works by Martin Lohse: Autumn Rain, with its dotty raindrops sparklingly defined, and the more somber Winter's Tale, in which gentle snowflakes drift down on an overcast wintry afternoon. Ms. Wang's incredible dexterity was simply mind-boggling to observe, her fingers flying nimbly over the keys as she spun out the music, much to our delight.
But we were now chilled to the bone, and we silently agreed that we needed to leave and seek some warmth. We slipped up the stairs as the stage was being set for the next piece, and a few other audience members followed us out. I was sorry to miss Mr. Banks's set, and the anticipated Astor Piazzolla finale.
~ Oberon