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CHAMBER MUSIC REVIEW
March 30, 2003
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By Nikki Buechler
Music representing three separate compositional styles and historical periods was on the program for the Jupiter Trio's concert at Old First Church on Sunday. Jupiter Trio's performance revealed curious strengths and weaknesses depending on when each piece was written. Starting with a fairly complacent Haydn Trio, No. 43 in C Major (Hob.XV:27), the group got off to an unexciting start. Though they play extremely well as individuals, there was surprisingly little communication observable among the players. Cellist Julian Hersh did not look at pianist Aglika Angelova even once during the entire concert. Despite this fact, their ensemble was not badly affected. Haydn does not seem to be the group's strongest suit, as shown in the third movement, Finale: presto, affected negatively by a predictable, unenthusiastic tempo and generally choppy phrasing.
All of this changed with the first ethereal, delicate notes in the piano opening of Martin Bresnick's Trio, composed in 1988. Noise from the outside street traffic did not interrupt the group's concentration, though it was an unfortunate addition to this sparse and haunting introduction. From this point forward, Angelova's sensitivity was a major influence on the group after she took over as the driving force behind the music. She plays with a sensuality that is almost erotic, her passion supported by the freedom this type of twentieth-century music allows. The constraints and limitations of Haydn's strict classical music shaken off, the group seemed to expand with energy and freedom.
The musical colors achieved in the Bresnick can only be described as inspired. Color is really the strong suit with this group, when they're afforded the opportunity. As evidenced by their dynamic approach to this work, they can exploit the entire palette of available sounds. Though obviously well planned and prepared, the Trio nevertheless managed to find a spontaneous freedom of expression unavailable to them in the Haydn.
In their final work, Maurice Ravel's Trio in A Minor, their impressionistic and atmospheric sounds were mesmerizing at times. Though there were occasional intonation problems, certain passages, especially in the Passacaille, were perfect. Intonation issues are always an obstacle for string players playing with a piano, owing to the pianist's inability to adjust subtly the pitch of a note depending on its placement in different chords. This problem was particularly notable in the passages where Ravel juxtaposed extreme low octave piano chords with higher octave string parts that hovered strangely and mysteriously and set a dark mood. Given the ability of the strings to make fine pitch adjustments and the laudable listening ability of the two string players, the problem was not as pronounced as it could have been. The duo in the middle of the Passacaille movement, between violinist Robert Waters and Hersh, was executed senza vibrato and so simply stated that even the traffic noise stopped completely, as if on cue, deliberately and symbolically to enhance the beauty of the passage. The last movement, Final, was a true close to this concert, engaging and spirited. If the actual sound of the Jupiter Trio's fortissimo passages is not still resonating in that church, their energy doubtless is.
(Nikki Buechler is a PhD student at the music department at Stanford University. She has a Master's degree from St Catherine's College, Oxford, and spent 5 years working as a viola player in chamber groups, orchestras and as an occasional soloist in London, England.)
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Jupiter Trio