CONCERT REVIEW - Brahms' beauty infuses stirring chamber concert
By SALLY VALLONGO
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Musicians of the Toledo Symphony pulled together to present an all-string program for the second Blade Chamber Series concert last night at the Toledo Club.
This popular series of performances is perhaps the most democratic of all the symphony undertakings, since programming is driven, at least in part, by the passion of individual players who fall in love with a work and then, naturally, wish to perform it in public.
Such was the case with the highlight of the evening, an all-too-brief sample of Johannes Brahms’ magical way with song.
The marvelous mezzo-soprano, Fenlon Lamb, accompanied most gracefully by pianist Valrie Kantorski and violist Ellen Craig Archambeau, sang Brahms Op. 91, a mere two out of the composer’s total 196 works for solo voice. The performance made you want to hear more of the same, with the same ensemble.
No artifice was needed and none attempted. This was a straightforward, respectful presentation in which all three players found the common beauty among the stringed instruments: piano, viola, and voice. It was a premiere for the symphony as well as, in the memories of many, a vocal breakthrough for the series.
Lamb, whose satiny voice marries the richness of her low register with a silky set of overtones, very kindly first read translations of the German text for “Satisfied Longing,” and “Sacred Lullaby.” Craig Archambeau delighted and surprised with a gentle rendition of the 14th-century German carol, “Joseph dear, Joseph mine” as a countermelody in the second work.
Let’s hope to hear more of the huge selection of art songs from many periods and countries in future programs.
Bookending the Brahms were quartets by Mozart and Beethoven.
The Mozart, one of his last works in a series never finished — the F Major, K. 590 — was tackled fervently by the festively attired Zin Quartet: David Dyer and Merwin Siu, violins; Cheryl Trace, viola, and Renee Goubeaux, cello. Still, the work proved to be just beyond the reach of the players, who managed the notes but seemed pressed to maintain the light effortless ensemble that really sells one of these extremely difficult works.
Closing the program was an early Beethoven quartet: No. 2 in G Major, Op. 18, performed by Kirk Toth and Naomi Guy, violins; Valentin Ragusitu, viola, and Martha Reikow, cello.
Performed with precision and great élan, the good-humored Beethoven came alive with the drama the great composer would infuse in his music throughout his tumultuous career. While not as demanding musically as the Mozart quartet, the Beethoven succeeded because of the utter assurance the four players shared from the first confident note to the last triumphant chord.
The Stravinsky Octet for Wind Instruments originally on this program has been rescheduled for the next Blade Chamber concert on March 2.
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Contact Sally Vallongo at: svallongo@theblade.com.
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