I’ve always enjoyed chamber music – playing more than listening, but these days, I’ll take anything I can get. The musicians of the Sitka Summer Music Festival are extremely talented, and gave a performance tonight that, while not exceeding my high expectations, was all I could have hoped for.
APU’s Grant Hall is an intimate setting for chamber music, although the accommodations leave something to be desired (particularly when it comes to backstage areas). The small size of the hall makes chamber music seem more vibrant than chamber music performed in cavernous concert halls, and was perfect for tonight’s renditions of Saint-Saens’ Piano Trio No. 1 in F Major, Op. 18, and Taneyev’s String Quartet No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 11.
Phillip Bush (piano), Armen Ksajikian (cello), and Paul Rosenthal (violin) did a nice job with the Saint-Saens. I can’t decide whether I like the piece as a whole or not, but I really like the second movement – the theme was rhythmically and melodically unique, which is always a pleasant surprise.
The Taneyev, in which Ksajikian and Rosenthal were joined by Agnes Gottschewiski (violin) and Roland Kato (viola), was an instant hit. The first movement dragged the listener in and didn’t let go. I tuned out a bit during the third movement, but once I started paying attention again in the fourth movement it was clear that thematic material was being interwoven throughout the entire piece in new and exciting ways. All four of the instruments seemed to be playing almost constantly, which made for more sound and activity than one often associates with chamber music. I really enjoyed this, and felt it marked Taneyev as one who really knew the capabilities of string instruments, both individually and as a group.
I can only make it to two more of the six total concerts in this Autumn Classics series, but each of the six features one of Taneyev’s six string quartets and would be well worth attending if only to be introduced to a composer who might become a new favorite.
