REVIEW: Valley Classical Concerts, “Rendez-Vous”

Camille Thomas, Cello, and Julien Brocal, Piano
Smith College, Northampton, MA
https://valleyclassicalconcerts.org
March 7, 2028
by Michael J. Moran

French-born 30-somethings with extensive international training and performance experience, Camille Thomas and Julien Brocal both have strong solo careers; they also enjoy an inspired musical partnership as a duo. Their chamber music concerts mix tradition with innovation in imaginative ways. 

The duo's VCC debut program opened with a segment entitled “Grace.” It began with a “Reflection” written (seemingly improvised) by both performers on Charles Gounod’s arrangement of the “Prelude in C Major” from Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier.” A mercurial introduction highlighted the bright simplicity of Gounod’s setting, best known as “Ave Maria.” This segment ended with a stylish account of Bach’s third suite, originally for the lighter viola da gamba and keyboard, with a lively “Vivace,” a meditative “Adagio,” and a fleet “Allegro.”    

Two more segments with unusual musical combinations followed. “With Surprises” featured a haunting Brocal/Thomas “Reflection” on both a “Gnossienne” by the experimental French composer Erik Satie (who invented but never explained the title) and the more modern style of the English rock band Radiohead. “Chimera” presented a stately Brocal “Reflection” on a medley of Satie’s familiar “Gymnopedie” No. 1 (another original title) and “The Swan” from Camille Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals.”

The concert closed with a forceful but sensitive reading of Edward Grieg’s only cello sonata, dating from 1882-1883. The “Allegro agitato” alternated dramatic intensity with pastoral lyricism; the “Andante molto tranquillo” was hushed and pensive; the “Allegro molto e marcato” finale contrasted march-like and Norwegian folk-dance rhythms. Both players brought full, rich tone to their instruments, Thomas visibly relishing the many plucked passages throughout the piece, and Brocal building powerful climaxes on the keyboard.   

 A standing ovation from the appreciative packed house brought the musicians back for an encore, which Brocal introduced with mock seriousness as “delicate and intimate:” a rousing performance of Polish composer-violinist Henryk Wieniawski’s “Polonaise Brilliante,” arranged for cello. The flattering acoustics of Sweeney Concert Hall made every piece sound clear and sumptuous. The mix of classical and jazz traditions by these artists clearly had wide audience appeal.

The last concert in Valley Classical’s 47th season will present Boston-based chamber orchestra “A Far Cry” in music by Copland and Beethoven at Sweeney Concert Hall on March 21, 2026.

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

REVIEW: Valley Classical Concerts, "Merz Trio"

Smith College, Northampton, MA

www.valleyclassicalconcerts.org/concerts

February 4, 2024

by Michael J. Moran

Merz Trio

Founded in 2017 and named after a German collage artist, this Boston-based ensemble “juxtaposes classical standards, new music, and their own arrangements of familiar and forgotten works,” according to their program note. This concert, with a “Night Songs” theme (said cellist Julia Yang in opening remarks), was a textbook example of that eclectic philosophy.

It began with a suite of six short meditative pieces, mostly arranged by the Trio and played without pause. A haunting account of German mystic Hildegard von Bingen’s 11th-century hymn “O Fiery Spirit” was followed by: a rhapsodic “Andantino” solo by pianist Amy Yang from Robert Schumann’s 1845 “Six Studies in Canonic Form;” a mesmerizing “Hush No More,” from Henry Purcell’s 1692 opera “The Fairy Queen;” a lush take on Alma Mahler’s 1911 song “Mild Summer  Night”; a soulful “Round Midnight,” Thelonius Monk’s 1943 masterpiece; and a luxurious version of Alexander Zemlinsky’s 1897 song “Conception." The Trio’s singing in several selections deepened the suite’s nocturnal spell.  

Next came a vibrant interpretation of Schumann’s 1847 Piano Trio No. 2 in F Major, which featured: an expansive opening movement, briefly quoting his song “Intermezzo,” Op. 39/#2; a radiant slow movement, which came across as a lullaby; a mercurial waltz-like third movement “in moderate tempo;” and a lively, almost explosive finale.

The program closed with an impassioned reading of Johannes Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, written in 1853-54 after the 20-year-old Brahms first met Robert and his composer-pianist wife Clara Schumann, but substantially revised in 1889. The Merz Trio offered: a vigorous opening “Allegro con brio;” a supercharged “Scherzo,” with a delicately nuanced interlude; a hushed, nocturne-like “Adagio;” and a turbulent “Allegro” finale.

Noting that “we can’t leave you in B minor” (the key on which Brahms’ finale ended), violinist Brigid Coleridge introduced as an encore the Trio’s luminous arrangement of Richard Strauss’s ravishing 1894 song “Morgen” (“Tomorrow”).

Along with their inventive programming, this threesome is notable for the rare mix of intensity and balance in their performances, with every instrument always clearly heard in this storied venue’s flattering acoustic.    

The next concert in Valley Classical’s 45th season will take place on February 24, 2024.

REVIEW: Valley Classical Concerts, "Orion Weiss, William Hagen, Nicholas Canellakis"

Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity, Florence, MA 

www.valleyclassicalconcerts.org/concerts

January 15, 2023 

by Michael J. Moran 

This varied program by an ad hoc trio of soloists – pianist Orion Weiss, violinist William
Hagen, and cellist Nicholas Canellakis – could have been titled “A Century of Piano Trios,” as it moved from Haydn’s 1793 trio in A Major, the thirty-second of his forty-five works in that form, to Dvorak’s 1891 “Dumky” trio in E Minor, the last of his four such works, and back to Mendelssohn’s 1846 trio in C Minor, the second of his two piano trios. 

Haydn’s likeable music is a favorite concert opener to put audiences in a good mood, and, here, also to clarify the easy personal rapport and technical unanimity among these players, who all have extensive chamber music experience but are soloists in their primary careers. In their lively reading of his A Major trio, the “Allegro moderato” first movement was urgent and visceral; the “Andante,” a restful interlude; and the “Finale: Vivace assai,” a fast and furious race to the finish line. 

Dvorak’s “Dumky” trio derives its nickname from the Ukrainian word “dumka” (“thought,” plural “dumky”), which evolved into a Slavic folk ballad and, later, a classical music form depicting sudden happy-sad mood shifts. Like Haydn’s A Major trio, Dvorak’s E Minor defies the traditional four-movement structure, comprising six movements, all dumky. Introducing the piece, Weiss joked that it could almost be called “Six Slavonic Dances.” 

The Dumky’s open emotionalism gave each member of this world-class threesome a chance to shine. Hagen’s clear, silky tone thrived in the many upbeat, exuberant moments, while the warm, resonant timbre of Canellakis’ cello was most expressive in the darker, melancholy passages. Weiss provided a solid, steady underpinning for his flashier colleagues, while showing digital dexterity to spare.   

Hagen praised Mendelssohn’s C Minor trio for its “triumphant” finale (the silent Canellakis had temporarily “lost his voice”), which the ensemble rendered whole-heartedly, along with an animated opening “Allegro energico e con fuoco,” a graceful “Andante espressivo,” and an elfin “Scherzo: Molto allegro quasi presto.” The Bombyx's warm acoustic enhanced the drama of all three performances.

The next concert in Valley Classical’s season will present cellist Zlatomir Fung and pianist Janice Carissa on March 8, 2023 at Smith College, Northampton on March 8, 2023.

REVIEW: Valley Classical Concerts, Miro String Quartet

Smith College, Northampton, MA 

www.valleyclassicalconcerts.org/concerts

December 11, 2022 

by Michael J. Moran 

Miro Quartet

Founded in 1995, based in Austin, Texas, and named after groundbreaking Spanish surrealist artist Joan Miro, this probing and polished ensemble brought musical comfort with a varied selection of quartets from three centuries to an enthusiastic audience which braved a snowstorm to see them in the warm acoustics of this 600-seat venue.   

Opening with the light-hearted fiftieth (in B-flat Major, Op. 64/3) of Franz Joseph Haydn’s sixty-eight string quartets set a welcoming tone of high spirits for the afternoon. In the Miro’s virtuosic account of this 1790 score, the “Vivace assai” first movement was fleet and forceful, the “Adagio,” tender and flowing, the “Menuet and Trio: Allegretto,” playful and boisterous, and the “Finale: Allegro con spirito,” a headlong romp. 

First violinist Daniel Ching then introduced “Home,” a single-movement quartet written in 2019 for the Miro’s 25th anniversary by American composer Kevin Puts, whose latest opera, “The Hours,” just debuted at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Reflecting the worldwide refugee crises of recent years, the 15-minute piece questions the very meaning of “home” in today’s world. 

From a peaceful start, which depicts, in the composer’s words, “an idealized version of home,” through a harrowing middle section to a conclusion of hard-won but unsettled consonance, the Miro played this powerful and touchingly accessible music with almost unbearable intensity. Cellist Joshua Grindele and violist John Largess provided notably solid rhythmic support. 

Closing their program with the dramatic thirteenth (in G Major, Op. 106) of Antonin Dvorak’s fourteen string quartets guaranteed that the Miro would send their listeners home in an upbeat mood. Their full-blooded rendition of this 1895 masterpiece featured a vibrant “Allegro moderato," a somber “Adagio ma non troppo,” an urgent “Molto vivace,” and an exhilarating “Finale: Andante sostenuto – Allegro con fuoco.” 

After tumultuous applause, second violinist William Fedkenheuer introduced the Miro’s heartwarming seasonal encore, an arrangement by their composer friend Joe Love of Franz Gruber’s classic carol, “Silent Night” (also the title of Puts’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2011 opera about the 1914 World War I Christmas truce).

Next up in their 2022-2023 season, Valley Classical Concerts will present pianist Orion Weiss, violinist William Hagen, and cellist Nicholas Canellakis at the Bombyx Center in Northampton on January 15, 2023. 

REVIEW: Valley Classical Concerts, Matt Haimovitz & Simone Dinnerstein

Valley Classical Concerts, Sweeney Concert Hall, Smith College

www.valleyclassicalconcerts.org

January 12, 2020

by Michael J. Moran

Haimovitz & Dinnerstein

Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo recently won acclaim for a recital program featuring music by George Frederic Handel and Philip Glass, so why shouldn’t the duo of cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Simone Dinnerstein do the same with a program of Beethoven and Glass?

Both at the height of distinguished careers, equally at home with new and older music, and noted for an independent streak in how and where they perform, their juxtaposition of Beethoven’s last two cello and piano sonatas with two Glass pieces for solo cello and solo piano gave Beethoven a 21st-century cutting edge and Glass a firm grounding in classical rhythm.

Written simultaneously with the fifth sonata in 1815, as Beethoven was approaching his final decade, the fourth sonata defies convention with only two movements, each with a slow introduction and a faster main section. The duo played it with dramatic intensity.  

Haimovitz then performed Glass’s second Partita for solo cello, of which he gave the world premiere in 2017. In seven short movements totaling about 25 minutes, all with predominantly slow tempos, the partita displayed little of the minimalist repetition on which Glass’s early reputation was made. Haimovitz rendered it with affecting emotional conviction.

Intermission was followed with an equally gripping account by Dinnerstein of Glass’s “Mad Rush” for solo piano. Written in 1979 for the first public appearance of the Dalai Lama in the United States, the piece was of indeterminate length to accommodate the speaker’s unpredictable schedule, but its published version lasts about 15 minutes. Dinnerstein alternated its contemplative and declamatory passages with passion and sensitivity.

After closing the concert with Beethoven’s fifth sonata for cello and piano, highlighted by a rapturous central Adagio, the duo’s three encores showed how a third composer influenced both of these successors: a lively Allegro from Bach’s second viola da gamba sonata; a moving transcription of his 25th Goldberg variation; and a rhapsodic “The Orchard,” from Glass’s music for Jean Genet’s play “The Screens.”

The warm acoustics of Sweeney Concert Hall at Smith College in Northampton, flattering the deep, mellow tone of Haimovitz’s cello and the rich, dark resonance of Dinnerstein’s grand piano, added sonic luster to this rewarding musical afternoon.