After hearing the Carmel Music Society's presentation of the Beaux Arts Trio on Monday, November 30, in Carmel's Sunset Center Theater, there was one inescapable conclusion: chamber music doesn't get any better than this.
The founder of the trio, pianist Menahem Pressler, is the sole remaining member of the original trio, since the other original members, violinist Daniel Guilet and cellist Bernard Greenhouse, retired some years ago. The newer additions to the trio, violinist Young Uck Kim and cellist Antonio Meneses are distinguished musicians in their own right, but Menahem Pressler, who will be 75 on December 16th, still remains the grand old man of the trio.
Before this concert I wondered whether Pressler, being the dominant member of the ensemble, would play like a soloist so that the three piano trios on the evening's program would end up sounding like piano concertos (well, they
are difficult enough). It turned out that nothing could have been farther from the truth, for Pressler is one of the most sensitive ensemble players I have ever heard. Throughout this concert it was obvious that Pressler knew his music so well (he rarely looked at the score) that his principle preoccupation during the concert was an intense listening to his ensemble partners.
Thus, we heard the most exquisite blending of the three instruments. Mr. Pressler always knew when to play softly enough so that whatever was supposed to be prominent actually was, and yet he also knew how to let his fingers fly and roar his way through the virtuoso piano passages when it was appropriate to the musical design. In the end it was Mr. Pressler's subtlety in understating musical ideas that was so compelling. Although he has at his command a lovely palette of pianistic colors, from the softest pianissimo to the gutsiest fortissimo, it was the softer end of the spectrum that was used most often to make a musical effect, so that he never squandered his musical resources. We have become accustomed in recent years to hearing pianists insensitively banging their way through concerts, and thus it is a pleasure to hear such elegant, patrician playing as we did from the fingers of Menahem Pressler.
Violinist Young Uck Kim demonstrated again and again throughout the evening that he is a musician with impressive technique, solid intonation and refined musicianship. Although we have heard Mr. Kim before as a soloist, it is interesting to see how well he performs in an ensemble situation, for his solo experience obviously permits him to play with a great deal of authority. The tone of cellist Antonio Meneses seemed a trifle thin at the beginning of the concert, but it kept getting richer and bigger during the evening so that by the end of the concert it was impressive indeed. Meneses knows how to shape a phrase as well as anyone, and he used this skill to great effect.
The program for the evening consisted of two Beethoven Piano Trios, the Op. 11 in B-flat Major, and the Op. 70, No. 1 in D Major ("Ghost"), followed after the intermission by the Tchaikowsky Trio in A Minor. Op. 50. Everything you could possibly want stylistically was there. We heard beautiful balance between the instruments, lovely clean articulation, and, especially in the "Ghost" Trio, a wildly dramatic approach that took a lot of chances and succeeded brilliantly. The beautiful slow movement of the "Ghost" Trio demonstrated the exquisite control that the three musicians had in spades.
The Tchaikowsky Trio is rarely heard, and its forty-three minute length may explain why, for it seemed longer than it actually was. This trio doesn't have the glorious melodies and exciting climaxes that we have come to expect from Tchaikowsky, but it does have some powerful and moving moments, that the three musicians played with lots of soul. An appreciative audience gave the trio a standing ovation and were rewarded with two encores, the
Scherzo from the Mendelssohn Trio No. 2, and a movement from the Ravel Piano Trio.
Sometimes when we hear artists perform works they have previously recorded we find that the live concert didn't measure up to the artists' studio performance. And then we have occasions, such as the Carmel Music Society's presentation of Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax, that transcend all previously heard recordings. Well, the concert by the Beaux Arts Trio was one of those transcendental concerts that in spontaneity and vitality went far beyond the Trio's recorded performances and will remain long in the memory.
The next presentation of the Carmel Music Society will be pianist Vladimir Feltsman on January 11, 1999
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