Faculty Performances Shine
by
Lyn Bronson
Well, California Summer Music (CSM) is back on the Monterey
Peninsula once again to share with us talented young string players, pianists
and composers. From July 7 to July 30, we will be hearing three weeks of
concerts, master classes and premieres of some exciting new works by Paul
Moravec and David Tcimpides. Something new this year is that one of the
concerts, featuring a memorial tribute to Mtislav Rostropovich, will be held at
a new venue for CSM: All Saints Church in Carmel. Since All Saints Church has
the best natural acoustics for chamber music on the Monterey Peninsula, this
concert promises to be a very special event.
Wendy Sharp & Shelia Browne
Since cellist Irene Sharp and her talented daughters Wendy and
Robin are the moving forces behind CSM, it was no surprise that at the opening
faculty concert on July 8 they featured prominently on the program. Sharing the
limelight with violinist Wendy Sharp in the opening work was violist Sheila
Browne in the Duo in B-flat major for Violin and Viola, K. 424, by Mozart.
Ms. Sharp treated us to some lovely playing that was as stylish as it was
charming. Although playing a subordinate
role, (especially in the Andante
cantabile movement), violist Shelia Browne showed her artistic skills in the
final movement, Tema con variazioni, exhibiting a beautiful sound and
an easy technical mastery.
Irene Sharp & Lori Lack
The next work on the program was Dimitri Kabalevsky’s
Sonata for Cello and Piano in B-flat major, Op. 71. Most of us in the audience
had never heard this work before, and it turned out to be one of the most
welcome surprises on the program. In this
performance we heard from cellist Irene Sharp and pianist Lori Lack exciting and
moving performances. This work begins with lovely dark and mysterious sounds (to
which it returns in a da capo at the
end) with lovely writing for the cello. Irene Sharp was in fine form and showed
how expressive as a musician and impressive as a technician she can be. Lori
Lack is a splendid pianist who navigated her way around the keyboard with
millions of notes to play, but always with an easy mastery that always
emphasized musical values over virtuosity.
Hans Boepple
After intermission we heard pianist Hans Boepple in a solid
and dramatic performance of Chopin’s great Ballade in F Minor, Op. 52. Mr.
Boepple had, in many ways, the most difficult role in this concert, not only
because he was playing from memory, but also because pianists do not normally
just walk out on stage and play the Chopin F Minor Ballade cold. Rather, the
custom is to warm up on a whole bunch of less demanding works and save the
Ballade for later in the program when focus and concentration is at its best.
There was so much to admire in his very expressive performance, for we heard a
lot of beautiful cantabile and expressive phrasing, plus a lot of violent
Sturm und Drang exciting playing that
was truly effective. One of the difficult
spots for performers is just before the coda where after a great exciting
climax, the sudden rests create an unwanted silence that can invite unwelcome
applause. Mr. Boepple held a bass octave during the rests with the middle
sostenuto pedal. It was a great effect, and it really worked.
Robin Sharp & Lori Lack
The concert ended with a splendid performance by violinist
Robin Sharp and pianist Lori Lack playing Jasha Heifetz’s “Transcriptions from
Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess. This performance was not only a lot of fun, it was a
magnificent display of impressive virtuosity that simply blew us away.
We heard all the beautiful tunes and we heard ingenious variations and
permutations of these tunes, but what really impressed us was the performance
itself.
