March 29, 2009: Two monuments and a labor of love

Tonight András Schiff performs the first of his final two recitals in his cycle of the complete piano sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven in which he will play the "monumental" Opus 106 in B-flat major ("Hammerklavier");  but this afternoon at Herbst Theatre the piano trio of Jaime Laredo (violin), Sharon Robinson (cello), and Joseph Kalichstein (piano) prepared the ears with a stimulating reading of the Opus 97 ("Archduke") trio in B-flat major, which probably counts as the "monument" of the piano trio canon.  Completed in 1811, this trio precedes the opening sonata of tonight's program (Opus 90 in E minor) by about three years and is one of Beethoven's great adventures in exploring conventional structures prior to departing from them in his final piano sonatas.  For my ears the high point of this trio is its theme-and-variations third movement, where Beethoven departs from choosing a simple theme in favor of what I have previously called "a more elaborate structure unto itself, which could then be mined for variations from many diverse perspectives."  The trio thus honors the usual conventions while preparing us for the ground that Beethoven would concentrate on breaking in only a few years.

While the work itself may be monumental, Laredo, Robinson, and Kalichstein avoided placing it on any pedestal.  Their approach was affable and accessible.  Beethoven was not trying to provoke but to please in this trio.  The "revolutionary" insights come only with later reflection;  and the musicians knew how to draw us into the most receptive spirit that the music deserved.

They took the same approach with the equally "monumental" second trio in E minor (Opus 67) by Dmitri Shostakovich, even though this work is far more provocative, beginning with the cello introducing the first subject above the normal playing range of the violin and progressing to a final movement based on Jewish folk material, which would have been an extremely daring move to make in 1944 Russia.  This trio is remarkable for the way in which Shostakovich compresses his usual orchestral thinking into the capacities for a wide range of sonorities in these three instruments.  One can only listen in awe as he turns one trick after another, even setting aside one in the second movement that invokes Beethoven's thematic material from the sonata canon.  The only way this trio can be approached is with firm confidence and conviction;  and that is exactly what the performers delivered, giving what may be one of the most memorable works of the twentieth century the best imaginable platform for presentation.

This storm was preceded by a rather unique calm to open the program.  This was the WoO 39 allegretto movement in B-flat major (the same key as the "Archduke").  This movement was written in 1812 for the nine-year-old Maximiliane Brentano as a model to instruct her in proper composition.  In 1820 this same Miss Brentano would be the dedicatee of his Opus 109 E major sonata (which will open the second of the coming Schiff recitals).  It is clear that Beethoven had much affection for her, and the performers brought out that affection in the subtleties of what could be mistaken for a rather simple exercise.  The result was an overall experience in the compositional scope of two major composers that made for a truly memorable San Francisco afternoon!

March 16, 2009: Over two centuries of local (and neighboring) music

Chamber Music San Francisco began its 2009 Season with a recital by the Prazak String Quartet;  and, as might be imagined from an ensemble created by students at the Prague Conservatory, the program had a decided Czech flavor.  Prague itself was represented by Antonín Dvorák, whose A major (Opus 81) piano quintet was performed with pianist Menahem Pressler.  This was preceded (before the intermission) by Leoš Janácek's first string quartet ("Kreutzer Sonata").  The program began with Joseph Haydn's "Frog" Quartet (Opus 50, Number 6, in D major).  Whether or not it would make sense to view Eszterháza as a "Czech neighbor," the Opus 50 quartets were actually composed of the King of Prussia in 1787;  so, notwithstanding the title for this review, it may be a stretch to declare this "neighboring music."  A closer relationship might be found in the selection of Johannes Brahms for an encore (the Andante, un poco Adagio movement from his F minor Opus 34 piano quintet), since Brahms was one of Dvorák's champions, to the point of assisting him in getting his music published.

The title of the Janácek quartet is based on Leo Tolstoy, rather than Ludwig van Beethoven.  Wikipedia provides the following background:

"I was imagining a poor woman, tormented and run down, just like the one the Russian writer Tolstoy describes in his Kreutzer Sonata", Janácek confided in one of his letters to his young friend Kamila Stösslová. In the music of the quartet is depicted psychological drama containing moments of conflict as well as emotional outbursts, passionate work rush towards catharsis and to final climax.

In the Tolstoy novella a performance of the Beethoven sonata becomes a platform for intense passion, raging jealousy, and murder.  Those familiar with Janácek's operas, particularly those in the vein of Jenufa and Kátya Kabanová (both recently performed by the San Francisco Opera) know his penchant for raw emotion and will not be surprised to encounter it in this quartet.  I am not sufficiently familiar with Tolstoy's text to establish whether or not the quartet has a narrative structure based on Tolstoy's;  but, as I wrote on my blog in January, San Francisco has been an excellent place to become acquainted with both the structures and sounds behind Janácek's approach to composition.  Indeed, the quartet displays a close "family resemblance" to the violin sonata that Christian Tetzlaff performed last January.  As might be expected, this was the most emotionally intense part of the program.  The Prazak Quartet was not shy about bringing these emotions to the surface, providing a performance that not only satisfied those familiar with Janácek but also could win him more followers.

This is not to say that the Dvorák quintet lacked emotion.  The composition is the passionate work of a passionate man, but it is also the work of a composer with a more refined sense of nuance.  Since the members of the Prazak Quartet have been performing together since 1972, they have a keen sense of bringing nuance to their execution;  but it is also important that they have collaborated with Pressler in the past.  Through his work with the Beaux Arts Trio, Pressler has developed his own approach to Dvorák's refinements;  so it was a real delight to see how well his "visitor's" take on Dvorák meshed with that of his "hosts."

The Haydn quartet, on the other hand, had less to do with any Czech passions and served more to establish the performers' bona fides.  In his monumental Haydn:  Chronicle and Works, H. C. Robbins Landon never explains the "Frog" sobriquet.  He cites a bouncing cello motif in the first movement;  but he compares it to "a child's skipping rope."  To my ear the trochaic (accented-unaccented) rhythm of the Menuetto was Haydn's ranarian inspiration.  Regardless of your point of view, there is no denying the wit that Haydn brought to this trio, making it an excellent way for the Prazak Quartet to present their calling card.  Given Brahms' own fondness for Haydn, his selection for the encore felt all the more appropriate.