Students in Concert at CSM
by
Lyn Bronson
Stephanie Hwang, Emily Nash & Brady Anderson
Thursday evening’s “Students in Concert” program presented
by California Summer Music, opened with a fine performance of Beethoven’s Trio
in D Major, Op 70, No. 1 “Ghost” performed by violinist Emily Nash,
cellist Brady Anderson and pianist Stephanie Hwang. These fine
young musicians played with an engaging spontaneity and considerable charm.
Christine Choi, Annie Wiswell, Isabella Mensz and Shigeko
Landin
Next we heard a new work entitled “Surrender” by Anthony
Baron, 16, a sophomore at Cranbrook-Kingswood Upper School in Michigan, who
has already at a young age a distinguished track record of a busy involvement in
several aspects of serious music. “Surrender” is scored for string quartet and
was performed on this occasion by violinists Christine Choi and Annie
Wiswell, violist Isabella Mensz and cellist Shigeko Landin.
Although this piece started out as an angry sounding work, full of energy and
tension, in the middle it began to wind down and developed a feeling of
rhapsodic serenity in its gentle soft ending.
Katherine Lee, Jeff Taylor, Tema Watstein, Jennifer
Chandler and Thomas Bandar
The second contemporary work heard on this program was by
Paul Kwo, 25, from Los Angeles, who has racked up some impressive
achievements as a pianist and composer. The title of his work, “Birth of an Enno,”
was not explained in the printed program, and a search of Webster’s Dictionary
and “Google” online left me unenlightened. The work has some sub titles,
“Rockin, Playful – A deep slumber, In REM Sleep, Awakening,” and they helped to
give us some idea of what to expect. The work is scored for piano quintet and
was performed in this program by violinists Tema Watstein and Jeff
Taylor, violist Thomas Bandar, cellist Jennifer Chandler and
pianist Katherine Lee. The beginning section of this work was jazzy and
exciting and appeared to be as much fun for the audience as it was for the
performers. In the “Deep Slumber” section there were some lovely solos for
violist Bandar and cellist Chandler. This is a work we would have liked to have
heard again.
Emily Nash, Christine Choi, Shigeko
Landin and Isabella Mensz
After intermission came a lovely rendition of Mozart’s
String Quartet in D Major K.575 performed by violinists Christine Choi
and Emily Nash, violist Isabella Mensz and cellist Shigeko
Landin. The young musicians played this work with a winning charm, one of
the proofs of which was that at its end, it seemed far shorter than its 25
minutes duration.
Stephanie Ou, Alex Shiozaki and Tobin Low
The program ended with Smetana’s Trio in G Minor, Op. 15
performed by Alex Shiozaki, violin, Tobin Low, cello and
Stephanie Ou, piano. After hearing the first movement worked out in the
piano master class given by Jerome Lowenthal, it was a pleasure to hear the work
in its entirety on this program. Each of the young performers demonstrated
artistic maturity in this work and achieved many levels of intensity and
emotion. Violinist Alex Shiozaki impressed us with his commanding, rich tone and
easy facility on his instrument. Cellist Tobin Low produced a gorgeous sound,
and pianist Stephanie Ou was dazzling in her concerto-like passages, and also in
the beautiful way she voiced chords and shaped phrases.
