San Francisco Classical Voice

Anyone in the Bay area with doubts about the future of classical music here should visit the Crowden School in Berkeley. Besides the music education that is alive and thriving there, concerts are now available in its small performance hall. Last Sunday's concert introduced the Á Tempo Chamber Ensemble and a new series in the school's small auditorium. Á Tempo is a newly formed group composed of three veteran Bay area musicians--Julie Steinberg, piano, David Abel, violin, Benjamin Simon, viola--and a newcomer from Los Angeles--Gianna Abondolo cello. Their well-matched ensemble sounds as if they have been together for years. The little hall has wonderfully warm acoustics (owing to the all-wood construction) but also uncomfortable metal chairs and inadequate insulation from the outside traffic noise.

At the program's center was the Brahms Piano Quartet in c minor Op. 60, a masterpiece of the chamber music literature. This complex work, darkly tragic in overall tone, passionately lyrical in the slow movement, is known to be associated with Brahms' love for Clara Schumann. The A Tempo Ensemble gave a thoroughly committed, fervent performance, which made a particularly strong emotional impact in the intimate space of the small hall. The first movement is terse and somber, according to Brahms own words depicting a man on the verge of suicide. Its intense first theme, after a questioning pizzicato, receives an equally tragic answer. Already in these first few bars the excellent ensemble work and the dark ferocity without any coarseness set the tone for the entire performance. The lyrical second theme was warmly elaborated, but the inevitable return of the despairing mood came with an intensity equal to the beginning, as did the coda.

The Brahms' second movement is as dark as the first but more sardonic, with an almost Mahlerian ring to it. Also constructed very compactly, it is technically the most difficult part of the piece. The lyrical outpouring of the third movement, in the remote key of E major came as a contrast, and yet as a natural and integral part of this somber piece. The expansive and passionate love song is began by the cello. Abondolo's playing glowed with ardor tinged with melancholy. Continued by the violin and elaborated in classical sonata form the melody transported us into the most intimate recesses of Brahms' emotional life. Melancholy returns in the final movement but the fury has been spent. The more resigned and classically poised mood was captured perfectly and brought an end to a noteworthy performance.

The first half of the concert was devoted to lighter fare, two duos. It began with the Debussy Sonata for violin and piano in a capable but somewhat stiff performance in which Abel and Steinberg did not quite succeed in capturing the many subtle and at times mysterious moods of this short, three-movement sonata.

More satisfying were the ten selections from Bartók's 44 duos, originally for two violins, here performed on violin and cello by Simon and Abondolo. Based on Bartók's folk theme collections from Hungary and surrounding countries, these charming pieces are more complex than they might appear, with polyphonies, complex rhythms and interesting harmonies in the settings. The performers conveyed the various moods nicely. Especially satisfying were the fifth ("Fairytale") with its hints of Arabian night atmosphere, the delicate seventh ("Fly"), and the ninth ("Sad") with its pure Hungarian melancholy. With public concerts of such quality added to its program, the Crowden School offers chamber music lovers pleasures and surprises.

(Andrew Dienes is a 'cellist and professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, Davis.)

©1999 Andrew Dienes, all rights reserved