CHAMBERFEST WRAP

Mixon Hall

June 29

Dunham Tavern

June 30

Refined music with a rustic touch at Dunham Tavern.

There wasn’t an empty seat in the house at either of the concluding ChamberFest concerts. And truth to tell, there weren’t many throughout the rest of the festival. That speaks to smart organizing skills and marketing savvy, but more importantly, reaffirms the timeless appeal of quality programming performed by high-caliber players.

The template that worked so well came to the fore again on Friday night, with traditional chamber works by Haydn and Brahms setting the stage for a blowout reduction of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. The former kept the traditionalists happy, while Stravinsky still pushed the envelope, fully 100 years (to the day) after Parisians hissed and booed what is now regarded as one of the most influential musical works of the 20^th century.

After a heavy modern workout on Friday, pianist Matan Porat brought a lyrical quality to Haydn’s Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello (XV:28), embellished nicely by violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley and cellist Tanya Ell. The interpretation was straightforward but the tempo and sound were seductive, if a bit mechanical at times.

Brahms’ Quintet for Clarinet, Two Violins, Viola and Cello (Op. 115) was perhaps the most emotional piece of the entire festival – not surprising, given its dedication to ChamberFest Managing Director Christina Gaston, who died unexpectedly in April. The piece lends itself to muted strings and the somber tones struck by clarinetist Franklin Cohen, though the emotional intensity that he and violinists Yehonatan Berick and Diana Cohen, violist Dimitri Murrath and cellist Robert deMaine brought to their performance was striking. A virtuoso closing fade evoked a passing moment, and life, beautifully.

There were only four players for the Rite of Spring reduction, but their two pianos and dual percussion sets filled the entire stage. And the piece lost nothing in power or impact, with Porat and Orion Weiss providing seamless, interlocking keyboard lines, backed by explosive punctuation from Alexander Cohen and Scott Christian. It was fascinating to hear the work broken down into its component parts, which sounded no less radical sans orchestration. And no less primal – a reflection of the precision and quality of the playing.

Sunday’s closing concert offered a warm contrast, not just to the fireworks of Saturday night, but in the setting and scope: British and German works played in an American barn. Or more precisely, Dunham Tavern, the restored 19th-century settlers’ home and stagecoach stop on Euclid Ave. Rebuilt after the original burned down in 1963, the new barn offers an open, rustic wooden space that produces a surprisingly rich, full sound.

Two brief sweeteners to start: A Fantasia in F major and Chaconne by Purcell, played with spirit and zest by violinists Noah Bendix-Balgley, Amy Schwartz Moretti, cellist Tanya Ell and violists Yu Jin and Yehonatan Berick. Ell had some particularly nice lines in the Chaconne, showing how to put a lilt in the low end.

Britten’s String Quartet No. 2 (Op. 36) has some structural ties to Purcell, but those are quickly forgotten in this work’s endlessly fascinating and unconventional tones, textures and colors. It calls for superb technical command, which violinist Diana Cohen and cellist Julie Albers showed in several skillful turns. Violinist Schwartz Moretti and violist Murrath were even better, playing solos and lead lines with virtuoso precision and flair.

Schwartz Moretti was also a standout in the first violin seat for Mendelssohn’s Quintet No. 1 for Two Violins, Two Violas and Cello (Op. 18), playing with tenderness and careful attention to detail. The piece starts with focused intensity but lightens up as it progresses, and violinist Bendix-Balgley, violists Berick and Murrath, and cellist Robert deMaine joined in bringing it to an exuberant, impassioned finish.

Interestingly, the predominant feeling among the ChamberFest staff as the audience gathered in the garden for après-concert ice cream was, “We’re so sad!” Riding an emotional high usually ends with a bumpy landing, though the staff wasn’t alone. The energy of the festival came not just from the dazzling performances onstage, but from a full schedule of talks, socials and special events that made the audience part of the action. So the letdown was a shared emotion. And the festival set standards that the Cohens will be hard-pressed to top in 2014.

For more on Dunham Tavern: http://dunhamtavern.org/

For a video of Pierre Boulez discussing and conducting The Rite of Spring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAI_Id4ve-M

Photo by Gary Adams

CHAMBERFEST III

Mixon Hall

June 26

Harkness Chapel

June 28

Taking the tour of Rome: Cohen, Albers and Murrath.

Maybe there’s something to be said for a break. The second week of the festival opened with a burst of fresh energy, fueled by a few days off, an influx of new performers and bold programming that took listeners on some wild rides.

The centerpiece of Wednesday night’s concert was The Companion Guide to Rome, a 2010 work for string trio by American composer Andrew Norman. Just 33, Norman has already amassed a long list of awards and compositions noted for their spatial dimensions and architectural references. Those elements permeate Companion Guide, a collection of nine portraits of churches in the Eternal City filled with quick turns, sharp changes of mood and atmosphere, and touches of humor like the sudden intrusion of a car horn.

Though much of the music is abstract, it invokes very specific images and feelings. Late afternoon light dapples a high ceiling in the “Cecilia” movement. Whimsical note-bending and whirling turns in “Ivo” left this astonished critic feeling slightly dizzy, as if the twirling had been an actual physical experience. Norman’s ability to translate tactile sensations into music is remarkable, and was helped in this case by a fine performance from violinist Diana Cohen, violist Dimitri Murrath and cellist Julie Albers.

What to pair with a groundbreaking work like Companion Guide? The Cohens dug up a perfect opener, an obscure Biber piece titled Battalia à 10, which portrays a military skirmish in vivid and inventive terms. To re-create the sound of a marching drum, for example, bass player Scott Dixon inserted a page of the score between his strings and tapped them with his bow. With eyes closed, you couldn’t tell the difference. He and the other nine players gave a bright, animated rendering of the rest of the piece, led by first violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti.

Most of the ChamberFest programs closed on a traditional note, as in this evening’s Sextet for Two Violins, Two Violas and Two Cellos by Brahms. The instrumentation – essentially a trio doubled – opens up some interesting structural variations and tones. For listeners who prefer to sit back, close their eyes and be carried away, it’s also captivatingly beautiful. The ensemble played it with a sophisticated combination of expression and technique, topped by golden sounds from violinists Schwartz Moretti and Noah Bendix-Balgley.

Mixon Hall makes good music better with its superb acoustics, but Harkness Chapel does the opposite, diffusing the sound and adding a jangle around the edges. This robbed Friday night’s concert of some impact, though the playing was once again sharp and the program outstanding.

The high point was Ravel’s Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello. Written in 1914, it is a brilliant work that makes heavy demands on both the players and audience, with increasingly intricate themes, overlapping time signatures and virtuoso coloring. A sensitive first movement featured flowing keyboard work by Matan Porat and deeply felt, melancholy strings from violinist Yehonatan Berick and cellist Julie Albers. Tight ensemble playing carried the rhythmic surges of the second movement, building to intense third and fourth movements marred a bit by a leaden quality in the lower piano registers. But the overall effect was lustrous, especially Albers’ lead cello lines.

The opening piece, Ginastera’s Pampeana No. 2, was also weighed down by the keyboard, though Porat and cellist Robert deMaine wound it up to a snappy close. Gershwin’s Three Preludes for Clarinet and Piano opened the second half, with clarinetist Franklin Cohen finding fresh nuances in the well-known melodies and Orion Weiss providing stylish accompaniment.

Messiaen’s Theme and Variations for Violin and Piano was elegantly played by pianist Porat and violinist Bendix-Blagley, though it never developed any legs, perhaps because this early work seems so conventional in light of the composer’s later achievements. And a foursome of Weiss, deMaine, violinist Diana Cohen and violist Dimiti Murrath provided a satisfying, comfortable finish with an unabashedly romantic rendering of Schumann’s Quartet for Piano, Violin, Viola and Cello. Featuring particularly sweet sounds from Cohen, it was both intelligent and accessible, a spirited refresher on a muggy evening.

The same might be said of the entire Friday program, which alternated familiar anchors with bold, modern innovations. Acoustics notwithstanding, it was an invigorating excursion.

For more on The Companion Guide to Rome: http://andrewnormanmusic.com/archives/45

For more on Diana Cohen: http://chamberfestcleveland.com/portfolio/diana-cohen/

Photo by Gary Adams