San Francisco Classical Voice

CHAMBER MUSIC REVIEW Foxglove, Developing A Special Repertory

February 18, 2001

By Benjamin Frandzel

The Foxglove Ensemble made one of its occasional appearances on Sunday on the Noe Valley Chamber Music Series with an inventive program exploring some hidden gems of the chamber repertory, then bounding between the familiar — Mozart — and the brand new — Robert Ward's Serenade for Horn and Strings. It can only make it occasionally because its members are all regular, active players in large orchestras here.

Within this varied program, a delightful surprise was British composer Lennox Berkeley's Horn Trio, from 1954. With its involved lines, succinct but moving mode of expression, carefully varied textures, and meticulous craft throughout, this is an outstanding example of mid-century neoclassicism.

The opening Allegro, sometimes recalling Copland with its openness and clarity, was immediately engaging, owing much to the excellent balance and unified expression among the three players. Much of the movement's momentum came from the ongoing changes in tone color, as the rich tones from horn player Robert Ward and pianist Ellen Wasserman were answered in turn by the brighter voice of Sara Usher's violin.

The ensemble proved equally adept at bringing out the sweet lyricism of the second movement and the Poulenc-like humor and lightness of the closing variations. In both this work and the concluding Mozart, Wasserman's playing in particular stood out for its natural expressiveness, clarity in every sort of texture, and gorgeous tone across all registers.

Kaleidoscope of Tone Colors

Ward offered his own contribution to the horn chamber literature, a three-movement Serenade for Horn and String Trio, in its premiere performance. Adding to the afternoon's casual atmosphere, Ward gave an amusingly self-deprecating introduction, but no apologies were needed for this appealing work. The piece opens with some skillful counterpoint, with motives traded from one instrument to another, and the changes among pizzicato, tremolo, and acrobatic bowed figures provide a kaleidoscope of tone colors.

Not surprisingly, the horn was up front for much of the piece, with Ward achieving a nice effect with his legato lines over rapid-fire string figures toward the end of the first movement. The second movement's lyricism and third movement's energy and tunefulness were also fine elements in the mix, but a lack of instrumental balance became troublesome, as violin and horn were almost always in the foreground, with the viola and cello in supporting roles. As in the performance of the Berkeley trio, Ward's playing was beautiful, his phrases shaped with great care, and even his nimblest figures played with a full, round tone.

Turning to more familiar territory, the ensemble concluded the concert with a stellar performance of Mozart's G Minor Piano Quartet, K. 478. The players tuned in to the drama of the opening movement, paying close attention to the dynamic shape of both local phrases and longer sections. This approach brought out the journeying quality of the movement's long development, so when the recapitulation occurred, the music seemed to have grown deeper and wiser than at its first appearance.

Extraordinary Inventiveness

The playing remained thoughtful and communicative through the final two movements, and the sharp pacing of the final Rondeau highlighted Mozart's extraordinary inventiveness in this form, in which expansiveness and control are kept in perfect balance.

Foxglove opened with another welcome rarity, Mozart's transcription of the Bach Prelude and Fugue from the Organ Sonata No.2, for violin, viola, and cello. In the Prelude, the balance of voices was ideal, and cellist Thalia Moore was particularly adept at conveying the music's majesty. The fugue began with the necessary clarity between voices, as violist Wayne Roden followed Usher's statement of the theme with a somewhat jauntier rendition. But as the fugue progressed, its lines began to feel too forceful and crowded, as the breath seemed to have gradually gone out of the music. This was one of the few flaws in an excellent program.

(Benjamin Frandzel is a Bay Area musician and writer. In addition to writing concert music, he has collaborated with dance, theater, and visual artists, and has written about music for many publications and musical organizations. He is currently a graduate student in composition at San Francisco State University.)