San Francisco Classical Voice

CHAMBER ORCHESTRA REVIEW

Concord and Contrast

October 24, 2003

Eroica Trio

By John Lutterman

While the ever more competitive and increasingly international world of orchestral musicians has resulted in orchestras of the highest technical caliber, the distinctive character of various regional performing traditions has often been sacrificed. It's harder nowadays to recognize immediately the difference between the string sounds or wind sections of the Philadelphia and the Cleveland or Chicago orchestras. Czech musicians have resisted these tendencies and maintained their venerable heritage perhaps more successfully than any other musical culture, and the Prague Chamber Orchestra clearly demonstrated the benefits of maintaining their tradition in Friday's performance at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall. Their offering, an all-Beethoven program, was quite simply among some of the finest orchestral playing to grace a Bay Area stage.

If only it were a finer stage. Like certain fine wines that are said not to travel well, the incredibly rich and subtle palate of this orchestra is much better experienced in the more resonant European halls in which they are at home. Make no mistake, their performance Friday night was thoroughly convincing, but it was a bit like trying to appreciate the subtleties of a Vermeer in a dimly lit room — vibrant colors tend to fade into shades of gray. Things were made worse by a rather restless audience and a noisy ventilation system, both of which were especially annoying during the opening Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus.

The centerpiece of the program was Beethoven's rather eccentric Triple Concerto, with the popular Eroica Trio as soloists. This is an extremely demanding work, especially for the cellist. According to the program notes, the Eroica perform this work more frequently than any other trio, but while the soloists attacked its challenges with vigor and conviction, the first two movements weren't very convincing. They have certainly mastered the work's considerable technical demands, but there was little sense of motion or dramatic development. The violinist, Adela Peña, and cellist, Sara Sant' Ambrogio, seemed preoccupied with projecting their sound over the orchestra, a groundless concern in light of the deft support they got from the Prague Chamber Orchestra. Whatever the reason, there was plenty of energy, but little variety of color, vibrato or articulation.

Not quite a match

Sant' Ambrogio started the lyrical slow movement with a beautiful, full sound, but those gorgeous tones lacked a clear sense of direction. Ensemble issues were carefully worked out, as one would expect of a trio whose members have performed together since childhood, but they each maintain a distinct musical personality. Peña, the most extroverted of the three, throws herself into her playing with abandon, while pianist Erika Nikrenz, a thoughtful if somewhat reserved performer, seemed oddly removed from her partners.

The group seemed much more at home in the final movement, a rollicking virtuosic Rondo alla Polacca, which they played with real panache. Perhaps they feel that the more popular character of this music offers greater license to experiment. Their performance of a Piazzola Tango, offered as an encore, was stunning, with a wonderful range of color and expressive slides, and rhythmic flexibility. Rarely has a better case been made for the Tango as concert music. They are capable of such expressive playing that it was impossible not to wonder if they had held back in the Beethoven out of a misguided sense of classical restraint. Since they make no pretense of a historically informed approach, it would seem a wiser course to take full advantage of the expressive means that they command so well.

Beethoven's Fourth Symphony made up the second half of the program, and the orchestra's approach was a revelation. Czech string playing has its own distinguished history, with an approach to bow technique quite different from the international standard today. The sound that they have cultivated is perhaps not as penetrating as that favored in this country, but the range of articulation they have achieved is really impressive. In an appropriate hall the impression they make would be every bit as powerful. The winds seemed to emerge seamlessly from string textures, and achieved an uncanny balance between blending and standing in relief. The attention given to the minutest details was astonishing, but most compelling were the clear sense of direction, the appreciation of expressive gestures, and the sense of confident vision that they manage to project. This is all the more impressive as they perform without conductor, although concertmaster and "artistic leader" Anton“n Hradil's leadership is as clear as that of any conductor.