Adaskin String Trio
by
Lyn Bronson
Tom Gallant, Emlyn Ngai, Steve Larsen & Mark Fraser
Amy Anderson, President of Chamber Music Monterey Bay,
addressed the audience of Tuesday’s evening’s concert at Sunset Center in Carmel
to pay tribute to the late Nana Faridany and her significant contribution to the
Carmel Bach Festival and to music in general on the Monterey Peninsula. As a
part of this tribute to Nana Faridany, two preliminary works were added to the
program. Violinist Emlyn Ngai performed a movement from one of the Bach Suites
for Unaccompanied Violin, and the Adaskin Trio performed an arrangement of the
Bach Chorale, Ich ruf’ zu dir. These were some of the most solemn and
moving moments in the evening’s concert.
If I am not mistaken, this concert represents the first
appearance here locally of the Adaskin String Trio, which consists of violinist
Ngai (who made a strong impression at last summer’s Carmel Bach Festival),
violist Steve Larson, cellist Mark Fraser and special guest artist of the
evening, oboist Tom Gallant. They launched the major portion of the program with
Beethoven’s String Trio in D Major, Op. 9, No. 2. It was immediately apparent
that we were not going to hear an academic and overly refined performance of
this work, but rather a pleasing mixture of spontaneity, intensity and charm,
for these three musicians play with considerable freedom and vitality.
Especially moving was the fine slow movement containing some of Beethoven’s
loveliest melodies infused with moments of passionate yearning, capped off with
a remarkable development and a beautiful coda. The Menuetto and Rondo movements
of this work were especially pleasing and made a splendid effect.
One of the most interesting works on the program came next,
the Divertimento No. 9 for String Trio by Murray Adaskin, the namesake of the
Adaskin String Trio, and who, although unfamiliar to audiences in the United
States, is a significant Canadian composer who died in 2002. This eight-minute
work is well written for string trio and contains ideas of considerable
interest. There was no bombast or flailing of wings here — only solid and
meaningful music.
There were two works on the program that featured oboist
and guest artist Tom Gallant — the Mozart Quartet in F Major for Oboe & Strings,
K.370 and the Phantasy for Oboe, Violin, Viola and Cello Op. 10 by Benjamin
Britten. We don’t often hear the oboe as a solo instrument, and I am sure that
there are some non-musical people who associate the oboe with Indian snake
charmers. However, to hear Gallant in these two works was an eye opener, for
there isn’t anything he can’t do on this instrument. His playing demonstrated
virtuosity on the highest level, and yet there were many instances of his
subordinating his tremendous skills to the demands of the music. That said, I am
not sure that the oboe blends well with string trio, and even with his
restraint, the Mozart Quartet tended to sound like an oboe concerto. Well, maybe
that’s not a bad thing, for it certainly succeeded on that level. The other
piece that included oboe was Benjamin Britten Phantasy. This is a remarkable
work, especially considering that it was written by a nineteen-year-old emerging
composer, and although written over 70 years ago, it retains its fresh intensity
today. Once again, Gallant’s playing was fabulous, and the string trio's playing
wasn’t bad either, for there was a lot of beautiful ensemble and fine individual
playing.
Winding up the program the trio performed the Dohnányi
Serenade in C Major for Violin, Viola and Cello, Op. 10, which turned out to be
one of the most effective pieces I have ever heard for string trio. This was
fun, and the audience responded with an enthusiastic ovation.
There was one encore, the finale of an oboe quartet written
by Joseph Fiala (1748-1816). Cellist Mark Fraser told the audience that it was a
“Presto” movement, but then he corrected himself, saying that it was marked
“Allegro,” but that they were going to play it ‘Presto” and so they did. It was
a romp.
