San Francisco Classical Voice

The opening unison string passage brought a promise of warm, sustained and richly rewarding events to come. Such a feeling was not to be sustained though the entrance of the piano, however. No matter the acoustical quality of a performance space, there is always a danger when string players face a piano. The essential conflict between the percussive quality of a piano and the usually suave nature of the stringed instrument can often assert itself.

Such was the experience for much of the Fauré. Bogas is not one to force his instrumental sound, but if the piano itself will not cooperate there is little to be done. When the piano is played open on full stick, one could hear each hard and improperly voiced hammer. The result of this was a piano sound that could not blend with the strings in many of the sustained melodies, and which, from time to time, overwhelmed the string trio even when playing at full sound.

The string timbres themselves were an interesting contrast. Greensmith and Walther play with rich sonority graced by a fine, consistent vibrato. Ikeda's vibrato seemed more sporadic. The result was a tone that stood apart from that of his two colleagues, sometimes slightly nasal. The lack of blend, along with the harshness of the piano, detracted measurably. Ensemble however was top-notch, perhaps as a result of the continuing collaboration of Greensmith and Ikeda. All that aside, the opening of the somber Adagio, poignant and reverent, had a particular beauty.

After the intermission, a different cast gathered for an exciting reading of Schubert's great C Major Cello Quintet. Frank Huang (Violin I), Mark Volkert (Violin II) and Sharon Bogas (Cello II) joined Walther and Greensmith in a reading of immense warmth and intensity. The young Huang is a name to watch for. He has performed here in the past, always with golden sound and artistic finesse. In fact, the entire group demonstrated a musical poise that conveyed a sense of great love and of excitement. The electricity was generated by the sense of discovery that unfolded during the performance.

It is so easy to play all the right notes in all the right places and still manage to miss the elements that distinguish between a moving performance and a merely correct one. There is that moment of breath in phrasing - the "kiss" - that can never be notated. Here is a group that "kissed" beautifully, if not always quite together. They knew when to come up for air. The dialog (between them) was such that its murmur filled the air.

The most tenuous movement was the Scherzo, where at times the inner syncopations were hard to hear. But that second movement! Volkert and Walther, in a major contribution to the emotional intensity of the Adagio, created what might easily be the world's longest crescendo. That movement evanesced into a dream state which, at its conclusion, was left hanging in the air in an utterly silent auditorium. From the singing of the first violin to the strong support of the lower cello, it was a performance to be savored. Thank you.

(Kenneth Harrison is a retired professor of music theory and instrumental music. He is a professional violist, and was for many years associated with the Cabrillo Music Festival as Associate Conductor, Principal Violist, and Personnel Manager.)

©2001 Kenneth Harrison, all rights reserved