Lyons Chamber Players

The players—Douglas Lyons, horn; Sayuri Lyons, violin and viola; Joseph Rabbai, clarinet; and Evan Solomon, piano.

The program—F.A.E. Sonata – Scherzo for Violin and Piano, Johannes Brahms (transcribed by D. and S. Lyons); Clarinet Trio in E flat (‘Kegelstatt Trio’), K498,
W.A. Mozart; Suite for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano Op. 157b (1936), Darius Milhaud; and Horn Trio in E flat Major Op. 40, J. Brahms.

The first work (as a hybrid transcription) was interesting, and opened the program on a nice note. The (French) horn can be notoriously prone to bobbles but there were none here, even in the very wide-ranging writing for the horn. Also, it was nice to start with a one-movement opening to the concert.

The Mozart consisted of an Andante – pleasant but not syrupy, and graceful, with some gravity to the score. This might have been because of the slightly “weighty” feeling of the viola. The Menuetto could possibly have benefited from a slightly lighter touch, or a slightly sprightlier tempo. The Rondeaux (Allegretto) had a little more interplay between the three musicians, but the interplay was still slightly lacking. After intermission, I decided that maybe it was the clarinetist. He played well, with a nice tone, but just not quite the “chamber” feeling I associate with chamber music players. Merely my opinion.

The Milhaud, after intermission, was quite interesting. There was a little more sense of interplay. The Ouverture was lively, followed by a Divertissement that had a sort of “call and response” between the violin and clarinet, then joined by the piano. The Jeu was (if I’m remembering correctly) violin and clarinet only. The oddly named last movement – Introduction and final – had a broad/grand opening intro, and then the final turned bright. This was followed by a western- cowboy-like theme (think of the music in a tumbling tumbleweed cartoon) alternating with bursts of energy, leading to a subdued ending. Remembering that its composition date was 1936, it managed to stretch tonality, especially movements one and four, in a modern but listenable way.

The Brahms Horn trio began with an Andante that had very full writing – full in harmonies and full in style. The Scherzo - Allegro had a driving, rhythmic opening, bright, followed by a calm section, but always maintaining a happy, scherzo feeling. The Adagio Mesto had a gentle tune/motif, almost (but not quite) plaintive, building up dramatically and then returning to gentle. Think violin theme from “Young Frankenstein.” The Finale - Allegro con brio was quite energetic, with a few shifts in tempo and dynamics.

All in all, a very nice concert. The woman next to me (after I’d moved to a new seat to accommodate another listener) astutely commented that the viola in the Mozart gave the work a nice darkly hued flavor. And I have to give a shout out to Nikita, whose first classical music concert this was, and who sought me out afterwards to inquire about my blog. She and I agreed that the Brahms Horn trio was the most interesting work on the program. It sounds like she enjoyed herself; we may have a classical music convert.

ConcertMeister