REVIEW: Valley Classical Concerts, "Espressivo!"

Smith College, Northampton, MA

www.valleyclassicalconcerts.org

March 9, 2025

by Michael J. Moran

Espressivo! is a piano quartet founded several years ago by veteran Vermont-based performers violinist Jaime Laredo and his wife, cellist Sharon Robinson, with younger musicians violist Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt and pianist Anna Polonsky. For its second annual VCC appearance in acoustically ideal Sweeney Hall, the quartet presented three pillars of the relatively limited repertoire for this combination of instruments.

The program began with Mozart’s first piano quartet, K. 478, the earliest masterpiece of this genre, written in 1785 at the height of the 29-year-old composer’s short-lived maturity (he died at age 35). From a dramatic opening “Allegro,” through a tender, flowing “Andante,” to a joyful “Rondo” finale, the ensemble delivered a flexible and expressive rendition that justified their chosen name.     

Next came the last of Brahms’ three piano quartets, composed in 1856 as his Op. 60. The ensemble’s passionate reading featured: a forceful “Allegro non troppo;” a turbulent “Scherzo: Allegro;” a rhapsodic “Andante,” led by Robinson’s heart-melting cello solo; and an enigmatic, mercurial “Finale: Allegro Comodo.” The almost symphonic weight of the three strings playing together with Polonsky’s full-bodied piano in Brahms' piece contrasted sharply with their lighter approach to Mozart’s classical grace.

The concert closed with the second of the two piano quartets by Dvorak, dating from 1889, and reflecting both the structural influence of his friend and champion, Brahms, and the composer’s own Czech heritage. A bold opening, with quickly shifting moods, in the inventive “Allegro con fuoco,” five related but carefully differentiated themes in the entrancing “Lento,” folk-flavored, waltzlike charm in the gentle “Allegretto moderato, gracioso,” and ebullient high spirits in the colorfully varied “Allegro ma non troppo” finale produced a bracing performance, which brought the large, enthusiastic audience instantly to its feet.

The intergenerational membership of Espressivo! nicely balanced the long experience and instrumental talents of Laredo, whose violin was silken or beefier as the music demanded, and Robinson, whose cello was similarly rich-toned or grittier, with the energy and virtuosity of Pajaro-van de Stadt, whose viola was mellow or dark as needed, and Polonsky, whose piano touch could be delicate or thunderous.

The next Valley Classical’s concert will take place on March 30, 2025