Brahms Encounters – Romantic Spirit (1/21/17)

Siwoo Kim (violin), Rachel Kudo (piano), Paul Won Jin Cho (clarinet), Julian Schwartz (cello)

Scherzo in C minor, F-A-E Sonata – Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 – Allegro, Adagio, Andante grazioso, Allegro – Brahms
Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op 87 – Allegro, Andante con moto, Scherzo, Presto, Finale, Allegro giocoso – Brahms

I have mixed feelings about this Brahms Encounters series. It’s interesting in that a staff member from the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts has some conversation with the players during the concert. Sometimes it works, sometimes (like Saturday afternoon) it seems a little forced and a little flat. I did like starting off the concert with a single movement from a larger work. The scherzo from the Violin Sonata was brisk and pleasant and, at times, fairly familiar to me. There was really beautiful playing from both musicians.

The Clarinet Trio began with solo cello, soon joined by the clarinet and piano. It was oddly sedate for an allegro, perhaps shaded by its minor key, although that also lent a depth of feeling. The adagio was very calm yet still very pretty, without seeming to be too much of a downer. Throughout, there was good interplay between all three collaborators. Including strumming the cello, almost like a lute, the andante had a gentle, dance-like feeling—even in the louder, fuller sections, there was a certain gentility. The finale was more boisterous, but still restrained and refined, until it finally did bust loose.

The somewhat misnamed Piano Trio—throughout, the piano was a support, but equal-if-less-than-featured—also started off with a subdued opening. It, too, featured the lute-like strumming of the cello strings and had lots of unison/octave writing that would figure in all four movements. After retuning, the andante had octaves again, and the forward motion of the ‘con moto’ was very evident. There was more of a Romantic feel, especially in the piano writing, although overall, andante was more of an inherent musical sense rather than just tempo. The movement had a lovely and haunting ending. The third movement was a bright, brisk, energetic scherzo that then relaxed a bit. After periodically featuring octaves again, it had a slightly abrupt ending. There was a broad, full and positive feel to the final movement. I wanted to say sunny, but cheerful seemed to fit better.

There was beautiful playing all afternoon and, excepting the slightly clunky conversation portion, a well-planned concert experience. Don’t get me wrong—sometimes the conversation portion works just fine. This one didn’t seem to click.

ConcertMeister