Chamber Music by Samuel Barber and Aaron Copland
Rachel Kudo, piano; Alice Woo, cello; Paul Won Jin Cho, clarinet;
Siwoo Kim, violin; Brian Bak, violin; Cong Wu, viola
Ballade for piano, op. 46 (1977) – Samuel Barber (1910–1981)
Cello Sonata in C minor, op. 6 (1932) – I. Allegro ma non troppo; II. Adagio; III. Allegro appassionato – Barber
Sonata for clarinet and piano (1943, arr. 1980) – I. Andante semplice;
II. Lento; III. Allegretto giusto – Aaron Copland (1900–1990)
Sextet for clarinet, piano, and string quartet (1937) – I. Allegro vivace;
II. Lento; III. Finale. Precise and rhythmic – Copland
Barber’s ballade began rather calmly and then turned louder, with a mix of dissonances as well as more traditional harmonies. It was at times mysterious and at others rambunctious, presenting quite a few different musical ideas and sounds, with silence being used often and effectively. Still, it didn’t really come together for me.
The sonata had a very dramatic opening and was fairly dissonant, in general, though there were some parts with nice tunes that were easier to listen to. A false ending led to a more energetic section. After wandering a lot, musically, with some very lovely lines along the way, the first movement ended very gently. The second movement was song-like and soulful, followed by a rapid, contrasting section before returning to the soulful feel. The final movement had a dramatic opening for the piano and was soon joined by the cello. It was passionate, as reflected in the movement’s title. Once again, it also had a mix of ideas and styles that were a bit of a jumble. It had a strong ending, though slightly unsettling.
Copland’s sonata began with calm, open space chords from the piano paired with calm, slightly dissonant lines from the clarinet, with both then branching out in tempo and energy. It was very pleasant to listen to, even with the dissonances. The second movement also opened with solo piano that was then joined by the clarinet. There were simple, slow, calm lines for both, then an oddly disjointed section that was still interesting before leading into a slightly eerie ending. After a jaunty, perky, and fun start, the third movement settled into a slightly smoother section, still with a fun feeling. Following a lot of rapid-fire playing from both instruments, the ending was rather subdued.
The sextet has an interesting history. It was conceived as a short symphony in 1933. The technical and rhythmic intricacies made it, according to the conductor of the Boston Symphony, unplayable. The symphony did get a performance in 1934 by the Orquestra Sinfónica de México under maestro Carlos Chávez, but the piece pretty much languished in obscurity. Copland himself pared it down to the sextet version I heard on Saturday. The first movement was very energetic, very modern, and somewhat dissonant, with shifting time signatures adding to the unsettled feeling. It was angular, and even the calmer sections had an underlying frantic feeling. The movements all ran together, with the second being slower, smooth and quiet, but with tension. At times it was even mildly harsh, yet there were also phrases of real beauty. The finale was rhythmic, driving, and slightly biting. While the piece was very interesting as a whole, I really didn’t come away liking it all that much. Am I glad I heard it? Sure. And I certainly liked learning the history behind it.
All of the players were quite good and seemed to work well with each other, which is definitely a big help. All in all, a very interesting afternoon, even though I probably wouldn’t seek out additional performances of any of the four works. Maybe the clarinet and piano sonata. Ah, ha! I just did some sleuthing about the Copland sonata after wondering about the ‘arr. 1980’ reference above. This is also a reworking of other music, in this case his sonata for violin and piano. But it actually is Copland’s own transcription. Always more things to learn!
ConcertMeister
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