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Zwilich Premiere Highlights Delectable Program by Linton Music

Mary Ellyn Hutton
Posted: Oct 18, 2010 - 3:26:32 AM in reviews_2010

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Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio
Three plus four, a trio plus a quartet, equals seven.

A trio plus a quartet plus composer Ellen Zwilich equals a brand new Septet, which received its Cincinnati premiere Sunday afternoon (October 17) at First Unitarian Church in Avondale.

The occasion was the opening concert of the season by the Linton Music Series.  Zwilich’s 2008 Septet, the first to combine a piano trio and a string quartet, was the centerpiece of the program, which brought together the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and the Miami String Quartet.  Violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson of the KLR Trio are co-artistic directors of Linton Music.  The Miami String Quartet is quartet-in-residence at Kent State University.  It was pianist Joseph Kalichstein’s Linton debut.

Also on the delectable program were Haydn’s String Quartet in D Major, Op. 20, No. 4 and the Quartet for Piano and Strings in E-flat Major, Op.44 by Robert Schumann.  These not only made for great listening, but provided a perfect way to mix and match the seven players.

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Miami String Quartet
Pride of place on chamber music concerts often goes to Haydn, father of the string quartet, and it did so here, opening with his Quartet Op. 20, No. 4.  Opus 20 comprises Haydn’s six “Sun” Quartets, so-called for the rising sun on the cover of the first edition.  They might be called “Sun,” also, because they virtually became the template for the string quartet for the next 200 years. The D Major Quartet also dates from Haydn’s “Sturm und Drang” period (an 18th-century artistic movement presaging romanticism) with its “gypsy” flavored third movement and affecting Adagio.  The performance by the Miami String Quartet – violinists Benny Kim and Cathy Meng Robinson, violist Yu Jim and cellist Keith Robinson – was all that could be desired, precise and feeling, with the Adagio building to quite an emotional pitch.  Keith Robinson’s cello solos were particularly eloquent (greater parity with the first violin in string quartets was a Haydn innovation).

Zwilich’s Septet, which was given its world premiere at New York’s 92nd Street Y in April by the KLR Trio and Miami Quartet, made a strong impression.  The language is post-romantic, thematic materials are memorable and dramatic (even cinematic), and her handling of the instruments is extremely colorful.  The four movements, entitled “Introductions,” “Quasi una Passacaglia,” “Games” and “Au Revoir,” suggest vivid scenarios.  “Introductions,” for instance, saw the quartet and trio “meet,” with interaction among the instruments, at first tentative, increasing towards the end.  In “Quasi una Passacaglia,” Zwilich contrasted baroque and romantic expression by specifying cessation of vibrato at times.  “Games,” which Kalichstein called “fun and games” in his introductory remarks, incorporated jazz and the closing “Au Revoir” tugged at the heart strings.

The musicians obviously love this music and they made their listeners love it, too.  There will be more next year.  It was announced at the concert that Linton is commissioning a quintet by Zwilich for next season analogous to Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet (string quartet and double bass).   Co-commissioners include Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

The program closed with a great favorite, Schumann’s Piano Quartet.  It was an over-the-top performance by Kalichstein, Laredo, Cathy Robinson, Yu Jim and Sharon Robinson.  The first movement took wing on the lovely subordinate theme, sounded by Robinson and Yu Jim in question-and-answer fashion.  The second movement, In modo d’una Marcia, set up a moving contrast between the stark funeral march and the “angelic” melody that quells the sorrow, first announced by Laredo in a gentle caressing tone.  Yu Jim heightened the gravity of the funeral march with her important viola solos, and the movement ended with a prayer-like cadence and soft, high chords.

Kalichstein took off with vigor in the Scherzo, handing off scales to the rest of the ensemble in turn, and there was a delightful, gypsy-flavored Trio.  The audience could hardly wait to stand and applaud after the rousing finale.

The concert repeats at 7:30 p.m. tonight (October 18) at Congregation Beth Adam in Loveland.