Naumburg Concerts—Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (8/21/13)

Well, that’s the good news and the bad news. CMS is a great organization. Chamber music out of doors is not such a great idea, in my opinion. Here’s the program:

Quartet in D Major for Flute, Violin, Viola, and Cello, K. 285 (1778),
1. Allegro, 2. Adagio, 3. Rondo, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91); Serenade in D Major for Flute, Violin, and Viola, Op. 25 (1801), 1. Entrata: Allegro, 2. Tempo ordinario d’un menuetto, 3. Allegro molto, 4. Andante con variazioni, 5. Allegro scherzando e vivace, 6. Adagio—Allegro vivace e disinvolto, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827); and Quintet in A Major for Piano, Two Violins, Viola, and Cello, B. 155, Op. 81 (1887), 1. Allegro, ma non tanto, 2. Dumka: Andante con moto, 3. Scherzo: Furiant, molto vivace, Finale: Allegro, Antonín Dvorák (1841–1904).

The players were Wu Han, piano; Kristin Lee, violin; Sean Lee, violin; Daniel Phillips, viola; David Finckel, cello; and Tara Helen O’Connor, flute. For those of you keeping score, it was announced from the stage that Ms. Han and Mr. Finckel are married to each other, Ms. O’Connor and Mr. Phillips are married to each other, and Ms. Lee and Mr. Lee are not married to each other. Whew!

The Mozart began with pleasant banter back and forth, with certain phrases repeated. The second movement featured the flute line playing against pizzicato (plucked) strings from the violin and viola. The ending movement was fuller in sound, with a quicker tempo. It was typical Mozart, to my ears—almost the equivalent of Classical easy-listening music. I acknowledge Mozart’s genius; I’m just not convinced that every note is genius.

The Beethoven began with a jaunty flavor, with the second movement feeling like a gentle dance, punctuated every once in a while with percussive phrases, then back to the dance. The third movement was very brief, with a driving rhythm, though not frantic. The fourth movement was calm, with brighter tempos for the variations—and each player got a chance to shine. The fifth movement was very brief, but very bright. The last movement finished very strongly.

After intermission, jotting down anything was impossible in the dark. From memory, the Dvorák was richer, fuller, and really worthwhile to be hearing. The fact that that there was piano plus four stringed instruments really helped with volume, in terms of chamber music being played out of doors. On the good side, we learned from the stage that there will be five Naumburg concerts next year. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will be part of the series for the next three years. My suggestion would be for quintets or larger groups—trios and quartets are a little thin, from an audience standpoint.

ConcertMeister