Noree Piano Trio
Lukas Stepp, violin; Yi Qun Xu, cello; Yoon Lee, piano
Piano Trio, Op. 97 (“Archduke”) – I. Allegro moderato – Beethoven
Piano Trio No. 4 (“Dumky”) – Dvořák
One of the good things, in a sense, about Midday Masterpieces is that it makes me go and do a little bit of research about different aspects of the performance since there is no printed program and, therefore, no program notes. It was announced from the stage what ‘Noree’ means, but of course I neglected to write it down. The internet yielded the following: “A Korean noun translated as playing, games, amusement, entertainment, and recreation,” which is similar to what I remember hearing. The ‘Archduke’ nickname for the trio comes from the fact that Beethoven dedicated it to Archduke Rudolph of Austria (in fact, he dedicated more than a dozen compositions to Rudolph). The movement the trio played was tuneful and pleasant with a second richer and fuller section that then segued into a brisk, dance-like section. It was a little on the long side but very enjoyable.
The ‘Dumky’ trio was Dvořák’s last composition in Europe before traveling to the United States in 1892. It has six movements that are played pretty much straight through without breaks. It began with a haunting and beautiful lament that smoothly moved into a bright and cheerful section. At times there were broad, dramatic gestures and then quixotic changes in mood. Rather than trying to figure out which sections I liked better than others, I just sat back and enjoyed them all. It sounded to me like some of the tunes might have been based on folk tunes. Both pieces were played very well by these talented Juilliard students.
The Midday Masterpieces series has one more concert this season and I’ve already made my reservation.
ConcertMeister
No comments:
Post a Comment