A great musical partnership like violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott’s was a recipe for recital magic at Koerner Hall on Friday night.
- 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
The two performers were of one mind on all of the music they played, emphasizing a dialogue between two collaborators while also giving the music an immediate sense of excitement that felt as if it were being born in the moment.
McDermott is graceful and elegant, sometimes a bit mannered. Salerno-Sonnenberg is passionate and intense, devoid of manner or pretention. Yet it’s hard to imagine a finer partnership.
They knew, like complementary business or love partners, how to bring out the best in each other.
It was a relatively short but weighty programme.
The evening began with Arvo Pärt’s contemporary minimalist-style classic Spiegel im Spiegel, which helped the audience centre and switch from the stress and bustle of a big-city week to a different plane of perception.
Koerner Hall fell silent. Even typically bronchial Torontonans didn’t let go a single cough.
It fully prepared everyone for the intensity of Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata No. 1, which dates from 1946. Both pianist and violinist worked their way gradually up to the fire of the second movement before collapsing into ethereal delicacy in the third.
The emotional roller-coaster of the Prokofiev Sonata, rendered in often harsh dissonances, continued in the late-19th century harmonies of Ceesar Franck’s well-loved Violin Sonata.
The degree to which the violin and piano parts are arranged as dialogues has rarely been as apparent as at the hands of McDermott and Salerno-Sonnenberg. Their rendition was a breathtaking mixture of strength and nuance and expertly shaped thematic developments.
Both of the evening’s sonatas were great programming choices, in that they showcased the complete artist — from technical ability to musicality. Both women possessed these attributes in abundance.
It was hard to imagine these great pieces being played any better.
The evening’s only downside was seeing some empty seats at Koerner Hall, a reminder that there could have been more people out to witness these two fine artists making beautiful music together.
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
