South Mountain Concerts, Pittsfield, MA
September 8, 2024
by Michael J. Moran
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| David Finckel & Wu Han |
The concert began with a lively reading by Lin, Finckel, and Lipman of Beethoven’s 1799 String Trio in C minor, Op. 9, No. 3. The key of C minor always drew music of high drama from the composer (for example, his fifth symphony). A turbocharged “Allegro con spirito” was followed by a gentle, almost happy-go-lucky “Adagio con espressione.” Both the energetic “Scherzo” and the tempestuous “Presto” finale had abrupt, quiet endings, a playful touch.
Next came an impassioned account by Wu Han, Hoopes, and Finckel of Czech composer Bedrich Smetana’s Piano Trio No. 1 in G minor, Op. 15. Written in 1858 in memory of his young daughter Bedriska, its “Moderato assai” first movement opened with a seven-measure violin solo, played with piercing intensity by Hoopes. Wu Han’s sensitive pianism and Finckel’s rich cello tone were equally affecting in the expressive middle movement, “Allegro…Maestoso,” and a defiant closing “Presto” which includes a brief funeral march.
The program ended on a more upbeat note with a joyous performance by the full ensemble of Robert Schumann’s most popular chamber piece, his 1842 Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44. It featured an exuberant “Allegro brillante,” an alternately somber and brisk second movement, marked “In the Style of a March,” a virtuosically nimble “Scherzo,” and a jubilant “Allegro, ma non troppo” finale.
The frequent choice by Wu Han and Finckel to perform with musicians several decades younger, creates a cross-generational spark in their music-making that clearly resonated with today’s enthusiastic audience.
This venerable series of chamber music concerts performed by world-class ensembles continues on Sundays through October 6.
