University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music billed Monday evening’s Walter Hall chamber music recital as Shauna Rolston and Friends. But it really should have been called Go Big or Go Home.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
It was Go Big repertoire-wise, as two of the three pieces on the programme were icons of the late-19th century repertoire: Johannes Brahms’s 1861 Piano Quartet in G minor and Antonin Dvorák’s Piano Quintet No. 2 from 1887.
It was Go Big in terms of performers, as cellist Roston was joined by violinists Annalee Patipatanakoon (of the Gryphon Trio), Timothy Ying (late of the Ying Quartet), Toronto Symphony Orchestra principal viola Teng Li and associate principal viola Eric Nowlin, and pianist Lydia Wong.
And, best of all, it was Go Big in terms of the performances. This was, simply put, an evening of all-out playing by mid-career professionals who have the experience and insight and technique in place to craft something truly memorable. And because they really are friends, there was an extra little spark of love and affection behind the musicmaking.
I also really appreciated hearing three pieces that belong to the same branch of Western musical history, but at different stages of its evolution.
The concert began with Ernö Dohnányi’s Serenade in C for violin, viola and cello, which dates from 1902. It is officially in five movements, but there are shifts of attitude within each movement that make for a complex, Hungarian-flavoured outing filled with musical themes that comeback in unexpected places.
It received a confident performance from Patipatanakoon, Li and Rolston, who reminded us what an underappreciated craftsman Dohnányi is.
The Brahms, with Ying in the violinist’s chair, was big and broad, with the strings doing their level best to sound like a big orchestra.
The piano should be a strong, equal partner, but Lydia Wong had chosen to play the meekest of the two Steinway grands at Walter Hall, which made for a beautiful tone, but lacked the in-your-face presence that the music repeatedly demands.
The Dvorák, which closed the concert, was perfect. There is a clarity to the composer’s musical textures that allows a lot of light and space to appear between each part. And the five musicians on stage (and Nowlin playing viola instead of Li) gave it their all without every being overwhelming. Here, Wong’s pianistic collaboration was elegant, perfect.
This was a highly satisfying way to spend two hours. We are so lucky to have such great musicians in our midst in Toronto.
Their hearts were as big as their music — and I didn’t want to go home when it was over.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
