Classical Review: The Chamber Music Society of St. Louis Goes for a Dip in the Musical Pool
And intimate evening in a cabaret setting
The Chamber Music Society of St. Louis is a group that is so familiar with perfection! One quite expects it from them. Their offering last night at the 560 Music Center did not disappoint. The concert was held in the Center’s smaller space—the Pillsbury Theatre. Chamber music should, of course, be played in a “chamber”, where the relative intimacy magnifies the rich subtleties of the music. The audience was seated at tables, cabaret style. A cash bar was nearby.
The program, entitled “Fish Out of Water”, included selections from composers who have dabbled in watery music: Schubert, Haydn, Satie, and Ricard Lamote de Grignon. (Handel, I assume, will get his turn at a later date.) All this was preceded by a dashingly bright “opener” composed by Jessie Montgomery.
The host of the evening was the society’s personable and deeply knowledgeable Executive and Artistic Director Marc Gordon.
Jessie Montgomery is a violinist/composer bespangled with awards (including a Grammy). Her Rhapsody No. 1 is the first work she composed for herself. In this program I might call it the “white-water” leg of our trip.
It was performed, without accompaniment, by violinist Charis Shing—who is only fourteen! (I thought I was watching an episode of “From the Top”. Such mastery from one so young!) The piece is difficult—abounding in double-stops and racing back and forth, up and down across the strings. It moves from a whispery beginning into an excited chase, and then becomes tender and musing. There is little true melody, but there is great variety. Some passages are passionate, others ethereal. There is occasional dissonance. The final section showcases rapid harmonics on all strings. As an old violin student I know how difficult that is. One must press the string very delicately, very precisely. It’s a tricky technique, but beautiful. It sounds like a glass harmonica—and it ends this piece in serenity.
Miss Shing executed this rhapsody superbly. She’s a real virtuosa.
The brilliant Brian Woods appeared next, to perform two pieces for piano. I was not familiar with Catalan composer Ricard Lamote de Grignon, but I’m grateful for this introduction. His brief piece “El convent dels peixos (The Fish Convent)” was composed in 1945. It’s a sort of tone poem, with rather clear influence from Debussy, and perhaps Satie. It’s tranquil and graceful—a quiet pool.
Woods’ second piece, Erik Satie’s “Le poisson rêveur (Dreamy Fish)” was composed in 1901 and it shows Satie’s influence on his friend Debussy. Satie says he composed it “for a friend bored to death with grief”.
The piece is utterly liquid. It swirls, it splashes. There are sparkling drops as from a flipped fish tail. There are quite romantic passages, and even some hints of slow jazz. There is movement at various depths, with the smaller fish flirting with the surface while larger ones move with patient hunger at the depths. One section would be perfect to go to sleep to. There is delicious deliberation.
Then follows a lively, almost hoppy section. (Frogs, I think.) There is depth then bright surprise, alternating. There is, perhaps, a dragon-fly flitting by. There is frolic.
Mr. Woods performance was, as usual, flawless.
Franz Joseph Haydn wrote his Opus 50 from 1755 to 1757. The String Quartet in D Major is number six in the opus. It’s called the “Frog Quartet”. By using the key of D Haydn maximizes the use of open strings and thus allows this quartet to be the loudest in the opus. Haydn also unites the whole piece by suggesting more of a segue than a pause between movements.
In this performance we were blessed with the remarkable skills of Xiaoxiao Qiang (violin), Asako Kuboki (violin), Chris Tantillo (viola) and Bjorn Ranheim (cello).
The piece opens with luscious warmth. The four instrumental voices are beautifully balanced. There is a soft, graceful urgency. The second movement grows meditative and features a distinctive kind of warble among the violins and the viola.
These musicians are so sublimely comfortable in this music!
The piece becomes spritely, with birdlike “chirrups”.
If, as they say, chamber music is a conversation among the players, then the final movement is very busy talk. This movement contains a curious trick: in one passage a single note is repeated rapidly—first on an open string, then fingered on the adjacent lower string—as: open A string, then A fingered on the D string. (For you techies this is called “unison bariolage”.) The different timbres yield a pulsating sound—which some liken to frogs croaking. Hence the title.
As in any sensible program the unfamiliar work came first; the grand old favorite arrived last. This favorite was, of course, Schubert’s “Trout Quintet”, featuring Brian Woods at the piano, Hannah Ji (violin), Chris Tantillo (viola) Bjorn Ranheim (cello) and David DeRiso (bass).
This quintet (1819) is Schubert at his very richest. It includes variations on his earlier lied, “The Trout”. It is beautifully fluid throughout. The piano frequently plays strictly in its upper registers (the bass lines being given over to the cello and string bass). This gives a brightness and sparkle and splash.
The Allegro begins serenely, then shifts into veritable travelling music, the theme passing among the various instruments. Ever and again there is a phrase that is repeated higher, then higher and higher. This feeds our anticipation.
The Andante is sweet and lyrical, then grows dramatic with, again, that rising, rising, rising pattern.
The third movement, the Scherzo and Presto, is a great merry romp.
The fourth (Andantino) is where we find the variations on the composers earlier lied. It’s full of quite whistleable cheery melody—like peasant songs.
The final movement is a showpiece in itself. It’s grandiose and glorious, with dramatic shifts in tempo and mood. Sometimes it flies by at a truly fierce speed.
All of this magic was created flawlessly by these five magnificent musicians.
Thank you, thank you and a very large “Bravo” to the Chamber Music Society of St. Louis. Their program, “Fish Out of Water” was presented April 14 at the 560 Music Center. Visit their web site for information on future concerts.