Above: composer York Bowen
~ Author: Oberon
Sunday January 12th, 2020 - This afternoon's concert in the Philharmonic Ensembles series at Merkin Hall brought such rarities as a sonata for two violins and a quartet for violas, along with a Vivaldi trio and Johannes Brahms' second piano quartet. An assemblage of artists from The New York Philharmonic delivered the music with élan, and the audience's enjoyment was palpable.
Nothing sets concert off to a finer start than music of Antonio Vivaldi. This afternoon, the composer's Trio Sonata in F-major, RV 69, sounded particularly vibrant as performed by Soohyun Kwon and Andi Zhang (violins), Satoshi Okamoto (bass), and Paolo Bordignon (harpsichord). Mr. Bordignon briefly introduced the piece, noting that the harpsichord's main purpose in this music is to provide harmonies; this he did with distinction.
In four brief movements - Prelude, Allemande, Courante, and Gavotte - this music is elegant and lively. The fugue-like Courante was especially appealing, and in the concluding Gavotte, Mr. Okamoto played an animated bass line with aplomb.
The two rarities came next, and both proved worthy of more frequent hearings. Sergei Prokofiev, in his autobiography, wrote of hearing a "bad" sonata for two violins (without piano accompaniment) and thought he could make a better one. A commission from Triton, a recently-formed Paris-based society dedicated to presenting new chamber music, gave him the opportunity to try his hand in composing just such a sonata for the organization's inaugural concert in December of 1932.
Tonight, this fascinating work was performed by Quan Ge and Jun Suk Yu. From the thoughtful, high opening passage of the Andante cantabile, the distinctive colours of the two players' timbres made their performance a vivid delight. Slashing motifs in the Allegro presaged an angular dance; the violins seems to be chasing one another. An agitato passage briefly transformed into a rocking lullaby before springing to life again. Sweet sorrow in the Comodo gives way to the lively Allegro con brio, a dance with strong accents and a sense of humor. Acceleration and a leap to the heights contrasts with some dour harmonies before an insectuous finale. The two violinists scored a hit with the crowd in this engrossing performance.
Equally enjoyzble, in a very different was, is York Bowen's Fantasia for four violas, written in 1907. The composer brings forth an array of textures from the four violas, played today by Rebecca Young, Dorian Rence, Cong Wu, and Rémi Pelletier (who is leaving the Philharmonic to join the Toronto Symphony).
The music has a melancholy depth, and is rich in harmonies. While animated passages sometimes crop up, the overall mood is elegiac. The melody is carried much of the time by Rebecca Young, but themes are sometimes passed from player to player. One of the most interesting moments came as Cong Wu ascended the scale note by note whilst his three colleagues played weeping motifs. The quartet comes to a truly gorgeous ending, winning the players especially warm applause.
The performance concluded with Brahms' Piano Quartet #2. It's a chamber work with a symphonic feeling and was played superbly by Anna Polonsky (piano), Yulia Ziskel (violin), Cong Wu (viola), and Nathan Vickery (cello).
Introducing the piece, Mr. Vickery noted that it seems to be the least-frequently played of the three Brahms piano quartets. I had only heard it played live once previously, and today I admit it seemed rather drawn-out, with the composer sometimes pursuing by-ways rather the moving forward with a great sense of purpose. The playing of it, however, was genuinely wonderful, and evoked a shouting ovation the at end.
{I feel I must amend this report on the concluding Brahms: I have realized that the fact that I was experiencing symptoms of a cold and effects of medication caused a lack of focus on my part during the playing of the piano quartet. I can only re-affirm that it was excellently played.}
~ Oberon