San Francisco Classical Voice

RECITAL REVIEW

A Century's Worth of Cello Music

September 20, 2002

Gregory Sauer

Joan Nagano

By John Lutterman

The Old First Concert series has a distinguished reputation for presenting a variety of professional-caliber chamber music performances and recitals, often featuring repertoire and performers who have yet to achieve widespread recognition. Ticket prices are quite reasonable, and as a result, the musical background of the audience is perhaps somewhat more diverse than is typical at other venues. The recital last Friday offered mainstream works from the cello-and-piano duo repertoire. Pianist Joan Nagano is well known in the Bay Area, especially for her performances of new music, but I believe that cellist Gregory Sauer, who is on the faculty of the University of Oklahoma, is new to San Francisco audiences.

The works offered Friday share a number of characteristics. All were written within a span of eighty years, from Brahms' Sonata in E minor, Op. 38 (1865), to Martinu's entertaining "Variations on a theme of Rossini" (1942). All take full advantage of the sonorous capabilities of the modern cello and piano, especially in passages exploiting the rich, lyrical possibilities of the lower registers. In all of the works classical genres are reworked in an enriched, essentially romantic tonal language.

The attempt to draw in broader audiences by incorporating works in popular style notwithstanding, recital programming in recent years has tended to present works more unified in style, and Friday's concert was no exception. In the early-music world this has long been the case. Perhaps because of the success of period-instrument performances, many so-called "modern" performers have decided to leave the earlier repertoire to the specialist. I have mixed feelings about this trend. In the past programs more often than not offered a pot-pourri of historical styles. The variety this afforded could go a long way in keeping an audience's attention. The overall effect was often something like having a formal meal of four or five courses, each course of a different cuisine. Although this sometimes resulted in a confusing jumble, if carefully planned, such an experience could be delightful. While there is much to be said for a program that immerses the audience in a unified style, it does seem odd to find such a trend in this age of diversity.

Too much similarity

Of course there are worlds of difference among Brahms, Kodaly, Shostakovich, and Martinu, but there are enough similarities to make this kind of programming a challenge. The approach taken on Friday was problematic, and as a result the audience seemed a bit restless. Perhaps it would have helped to present the works in a different order. But these are all appealing, immediately accessible works, any of them would have made a good opener, and most would have been suitable to end a program, so I can imagine a number of solutions. The biggest problem on Friday was that the program didn't take account of the performers' strengths. The Martinu variations, given the most successful performance of the evening, were buried in the middle of the program. Here Sauer played with real flair. His impressive command of the bow was given a chance to shine in the clearly articulated bowed staccato (both up and down) and there were moments of charming wit and panache.

Unfortunately the rest of the program was quite disappointing. The three sonatas (Shostakovich, Kodaly and Brahms) sounded under-rehearsed, and were generally unconvincing. Ensemble was pretty ragged and Sauer had problems with intonation throughout, but the thing that disturbed me most was the understated approach. Despite its reliance on classical models, this is full-blown romantic repertoire, and begs to express an incredible range of passions. The performances I heard on Friday seemed too calculated and one-dimensional. Frankly, I was bored much of the time and so was most of the audience. That said, it is clear that Nagano and Sauer are both capable musicians, and I would welcome the opportunity to hear them under other conditions.