Seven Composers – Seven Countries – Four Centuries. Well that’s rather pretentious, eh? Our performers were Roe Goodman (bassoon), Arianna Kalian (oboe), Giovanni Koll (piano), and Stephen Poppel (clarinet). From reading their bios, it seems that these are very talented amateur musicians with other careers not including making music. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
I’m thinking that this time around I’ll just highlight the high points for me, rather than listing every work and every movement.
I particularly liked Suite pour Trio d’Anches (Alexandre Tansman, Poland, 1897–1986), a composer who was new to me. Here’s the breakdown and my reactions: I. Dialogues – Andante sostenuto, with interesting harmonies and individual lines; II. Scherzino – Molto vivace, with shifting, playful rhythms; III. Aria – Largo, which was somber, serious and nicely composed; and IV. Finale – Vivo, with the bassoon providing a steady rhythm, followed by the clarinet in a disjointed but spirited burst, closing with a chorale-like section.
Trio Pathétique (Mikhail Glinka, Russia, 1804–1867) was also quite enjoyable. This was a clarinet, bassoon, piano trio that had opening unisons, rippling piano accompaniments, musical phrases passed back and forth, with some piano parts that reminded me of music box tinkling. There was an extended clarinet/piano duet and then a piano/bassoon duet. The pianist was great throughout, and it was a very nice, varied, interesting piece (though there was one minor clarinet mishap).
In the second half, I liked the Sonata in C for Oboe and Bassoon (Carlo Besozzi, Italy,
1738–1791), also a composer new to me. The opening Allegro presented both instruments as equals, though the bassoon was sometimes relegated to rhythmic accompaniment. The middle Adagio movement seemed more like an exercise rather than music for music’s sake. The closing Allegro was pleasant, but I still liked the opening movement the best.
1738–1791), also a composer new to me. The opening Allegro presented both instruments as equals, though the bassoon was sometimes relegated to rhythmic accompaniment. The middle Adagio movement seemed more like an exercise rather than music for music’s sake. The closing Allegro was pleasant, but I still liked the opening movement the best.
The closer was Cinq Pièces en Trio (Jacques Ibert, France, 1890–1962). C’mon, even the name is fun—jzhach-ee-bear. Ooh-la-la! At any rate, my notes for the five movements include: Bright, tightly scored; Oboe/clarinet opening, then trio (bassoon) – gentle and pleasant; Running figures (fast passage work); Calm, rocking rhythms, pastoral but with some spiky accents; and Jaunty, no pretensions, just a little gem of a romp.
Less successful, to my ear, were transcriptions of Henry Purcell (England, 1659–1695), and Franz Schubert (Austria, 1797–1826), and a Rhapsody for Solo Clarinet (Willson Osborne,
1906–1979).
1906–1979).
Still the concert delivered Seven Composers, Seven Countries, and Four Centuries. And a lot of good music along the way.
ConcertMeister
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